Collingwood veteran Travis Varcoe has returned to Melbourne after visiting his sister who is in a critical condition in hospital after a football accident.
Varcoe's sister Maggie has been in hospital since suffering a head injury while playing in an Adelaide Football League women's grand final last Sunday.
She remains in a coma at Royal Adelaide Hospital after being struck in the head in what her club, Angle Vale, says was an accidental on-field collision.
Travis, a key member of Collingwood's side to play West Coast in an AFL qualifying final on September 8, gathered teammates to address them at training on Wednesday.
"He feels comfortable (at the club) and wants to be around his other family and that's us at the footy club," Collingwood vice captain Steele Sidebottom said.
"It's a really difficult time for Trav and his family ... his two kids and his wife Kim.
"Wherever Trav thinks he needs to be, whether that's at the club or with his family ... we'll support him."
Maggie's club, Angle Vale, said its "love and prayers go out to the Varcoe family".
"Maggie was injured in an on-field accident during our women's grand final on Sunday afternoon," the club said in a statement on Facebook.
"Her family is by her side as she continues her fight ... Maggie is a much loved member of our club and we will be here to support her and the family in anyway we can."
Maggie reportedly walked off the ground after the on-field collision but collapsed in the changerooms before being taken by ambulance to hospital.
