A bone infection has meant a hospital visit for Collingwood star Darcy Moore and sidelined him from AFL pre-season training until the new year.
The news comes five days after teammate Jordan De Goey needed a shoulder operation that will put him out of action for about a month.
The Magpies said on Friday that Moore is recovering at home after needing hospital treatment for osteomyelitis.
They did not go into detail about how long Moore was in hospital or what treatment he needed.
Collingwood added the vice-captain would not return until after the Christmas-New Year break.
"Our main priority is Darcy's health and we will continue to support him as he recovers at home from the infection," said Magpies football boss Graham Wright said.
"We are grateful that this was picked up early by medical staff and as such, we are not expecting any long-term issues."
Moore, 26, finished second in Colllingwood's best and fairest voting after playing 24 games this season for a total of 126 since his 2015 debut.
The 2020 All-Australian was also named their player of the finals series.
