Luke Ball is confident he has conquered a niggling calf injury, as the Collingwood veteran weighs up whether he will play on next year.
Ball was forced to miss last Saturday's loss to Gold Coast, the second AFL game this season he has skipped due to a recurrent calf issue.
But the midfielder will return alongside Nick Maxwell for Sunday's crunch clash with Essendon.
And with a weekend off to follow, he's hoping the muscle won't flare up again this season.
"I should be ok now," Ball said after completing training on Friday.
"It'll just be about managing workloads, which most guys tend to do.
"It hasn't been too bad ... I can't complain too much. We've got guys that have had worse runs than me."
The 30-year-old has already played more games this season than he managed in 2012 or 2013.
But the No.2 pick from the 2001 draft is in no hurry to declare his intentions for 2015.
"I'm out of contract, so we'll sit down at the end of the year and see how I'm going and how the team's going and make a decision then," Ball said.
"I'm not too fussed at the moment. I'm worried about trying to get back playing and help the side get back on track and play some finals footy."
Ball said he'd make up his mind over the next two months.
Maxwell also trained well on Friday and will be back to guide the Magpies' young defence.
"He just shores up the defence a bit ... he's an experienced player and an underrated player," Ball said.
"Maxy was playing really well before he got injured. He's been pretty frustrated and itching to get back."
The Magpies have posted one win from their past four matches and will be keen to make a statement against finals aspirant Essendon.
"It is (an important game), and they all are from now on," Ball said.
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