Pendlebury 'setback' proves costly against Dogs

Collingwood veteran Scott Pendlebury‘s road to game 400 has been hit with a major setback, in the form of a serious bicep injury.

And the 36-year-old’s absence has been felt deeply already, with the Pies going down to the Western Bulldogs by 18 points on Friday night.

Sitting on 394 games, Pendlebury is expected to miss up to a month of footy, after suffering a partial tendon tear of his bicep muscle in his left arm.

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After undergoing an ultrasound on Monday, Pendlebury still took to the training track two days later.

An ultrasound of the bicep on Monday showed a slight strain allowing Pendlebury to train on Wednesday.

“Scott was cleared to train on Wednesday and while he got through most of the session, it was during the last tackling drill where he tested it and felt soreness return in that bicep,” Collingwood high performamcve manager Jarrod Wade said.

“It’s a slight setback for Scott who will rehabilitate his bicep over the coming weeks, and we expect to see him return to full fitness following our bye in round 15.”

The loss of Pendlebury was felt heavily through Collingwood’s round 12 loss to the Bulldogs, as the Pies were held goalless in the final term, while their opponents piled on five unanswered goals.

Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli collected a whopping 38 disposals, while teammate Adam Treloar had 37 and Bailey Dale had 35 touches.

But it wasn’t all joy for the Dogs, who now six 6-6 ater 12 rounds.

Young forward Sam Darcy, who kicked two crucial goals in the Dogs’ win, will likely spend up to two weeks on the sidelines, after a late bump on Magpie Brayden Maynard.

The act occurred early in the first term at Marvel Stadium, with Darcy jumping into Maynard’s back as he took a mark just outside Collingwood’s forward 50.

Maynard went straight down onto the turf, where he lay in pain.

He later passed his HIA and SCAT5 test, returning to the match.

Darcy’s act will likely be graded careless, which equates to a two week ban.