Collingwood star Jeremy Howe admits he has some work to do to get his sore ankle right but there's no way it's going to cost him a spot in the AFL grand final.
Howe limped out of the Magpies' preliminary final win over Richmond at the MCG in obvious pain in the third quarter after his left foot was caught under him in a Daneil Rioli tackle.
While he was able to come back on he was clearly hampered, sparking fears he could miss Saturday's premiership decider against West Coast.
Scans quickly cleared him of any significant damage, and Howe told reporters on Monday his preparation would be tailored to give it as much time as possible to heal.
"We'll have main training on Thursday, so I'll probably push it back until then to give it every chance to settle down," Howe said.
"Given the (nature of) the injury, it probably needs a couple more days.
"But I'm extremely confident that it will be fine. We've just got to give it a chance to settle.
"... It will be fine if there's a little bit of pain ... it's nothing an injection won't help.
"But best case scenario it will be fine.
"I'm confident I will be able to train on Thursday and get it moving ... Saturday is still a long time away."
It's a welcome change of luck for Howe, who missed the last month of the home-and-away season with a corked thigh that required a procedure to drain excess blood.
The high-flying defender admitted he dodged a bullet given the nature of Friday night's incident.
"I think it had the potential to be a serious injury with that movement but scans ended up clearing me of any major damage," he said.
"That probably put my mind at ease.
"It's just a matter of getting a bit of the swelling out of the ankle and getting the mobility and movement back."
