COLLINGWOOD defender Nick Maxwell has revealed that he has played the Magpies' past two games with a broken wrist.

The Magpie backman, who last week played arguably the best game of his AFL career in an unfamiliar midfield role on Adelaide's Scott Thompson, played that match, and the Pies' round-22 loss to Fremantle, with a broken trapezium, sustained in Collingwood's round-21 game against Sydney.

He has been wearing a fibreglass guard to protect the injury, the guard suitably padded so as not to cause injury to other players.

"It happened three weeks ago against Sydney," Maxwell told The Age this week. "I just spoiled a ball across the boundary line and felt something go in my wrist. I had to wait a few minutes to come off till we could get someone back on my opponent, then I just snuck off and found out it was broken.

"I wasn't going to play against Fremantle, but on the Wednesday, I thought, 'Stuff that,' so I came in here, saw the doctor, had a brace made up, strapped it up, took a couple of painkillers and got through training OK.

"No one outside the club knows I broke it, but there's no issue keeping it secret, because it hasn't changed anything I've done on the field or anything."

For Collingwood fans, Maxwell's effort to play through the pain barrier will recall the 1990 finals campaign of former star wingman Darren Millane, who famously played through September, helping the Magpies break a 32-year premiership drought, despite a broken thumb.

Finals time is often fertile ground for conspiracy theories surrounding players. Yesterday, it was Travis Cloke's turn. The Collingwood key forward is rumoured to have glandular fever, keeping him off the training track earlier in the week.

When the question of Cloke's health was put to skipper Scott Burns, who also declared himself fit for tonight's match against St Kilda, he could only laugh and suggest such rumours might be a good ruse to fool the Saints.

"He wouldn't be out here if he had glandular fever, but you can keep using that one, yeah, Trav might not play," he said, suggesting Cloke's efforts at training yesterday should be enough to dispel such theories.

The reason for Cloke's absence earlier in the week, according to Burns, was far less sinister; the spearhead simply needed extra rest after the win over Adelaide.

"It was pretty warm over there in Adelaide and he covered a fair few (kilometres). He's a pretty important member of our team, so we just wanted to freshen him up and make sure he's right (for St Kilda)," Burns said.

Cloke had a reasonably quiet game by his standards last weekend, kicking only one goal from 12 disposals, and obviously will be looking to dominate across half-forward against the Saints.

Burns was pleased that his own injured calf had healed "to 100%", and suggested it had always been the plan to return this week.

"I feel really good. A solid week at training's always a good sign and I've been pulling up pretty well," he said. "So unless I wake up tomorrow walking on eggshells … I'm confident I'll be playing tomorrow night."

Burns said if the calf was "anything less than 100% I wouldn't even be thinking about playing".

"Any soft-tissue one (injury), you just slowly build up, and when you can get through training and don't notice it or don't feel it — even after you ice it — you're doing pretty well.

"I haven't felt it for a week-and-a-half, so I'm really confident — everything's gone to plan, which is great."

Burns said defender Simon Prestigiacomo had recovered from the shoulder injury he received in the win over Adelaide last week.

The Magpies had only one player selected in the All-Australian squad last week, with small forward Paul Medhurst getting the nod for his best season to date, which has so far yielded 49 goals.

Burns was philosophical that no other Collingwood player had made the squad, but singled out Leon Davis as unlucky not to catch the selectors' attention. "Maybe (it's) because we are a bit of a dour team at times," he said. "Leon had a quiet four or five weeks, but other than that, he has been absolutely outstanding."