COLLINGWOOD defender Harry O'Brien won't be in the club's leadership group for the rest of his year so he can concentrate on his welfare, coach Nathan Buckley says.

Buckley confirmed in a press conference that the club had "removed the burden of leadership" from O'Brien.

He also said that he had been aware of O'Brien's struggles for a long time.

O'Brien, 26, led the Collingwood team out onto the training track today, just two hours after telling media he was suffering depression and battled suicidal thoughts, citing a "very complicated history of sexual abuse".

O'Brien made the stunning announcements as he returned to training following a falling out with Buckley.

"I'm going through quite a tough time at the moment," O'Brien said.

media_camera Harry O'Brien leads out his teammates at training this morning. Picture: Michael Klein

"And I'd just ask you guys for your sensitivities to that.

"I'm going through a history ... of things for a long time, including a long and very complicated history of sexual abuse, suicide, depression, seeing someone get murdered, knowing who murdered that person and not being able to say anything, knowing that person will probably murder you.

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF HARRY O

"When the times comes, right, I will open up about these issues."

O'Brien has previously spoken publicly about witnessing the murder in Brazil, where he was born, two years ago.

Buckley said "footy was the last thing" that O'Brien needed to be thinking about right now.

"Harry's situation is not unlike others in normal society and we want to give him the chance to get back and do what he does best," Buckley said.

"Part of the last couple of days has been a process to get back on track. But it'll be a product of Harry's mental state and application, along with what the team needs.

"The final say is selection, but to get up to that point Harry needs to feel like he's ready to go, but clearly this weekend is off the table from a physical perspective because he's missed a fair bit of training.



"The other thing is we've removed the burden of leadership from Harry.



"He won't be in the leadership group for the remainder of the year and we'll assess that going forward beyond that."

Buckley said O'Brien needed to do what he could to be in "good shape for the club".

media_camera Harry O'Brien

"I think at the moment it's pretty clear that from a welfare perspective that Harry needs to have that focus on himself and getting himself in good shape physically and mentally," Buckley said.

"I get the impression everyone thinks he's a basket-case. He has been through some things that I couldn't imagine, I couldn't imagine what that feels like."



Buckley said the club didn't "feel the need to challenge individuals or open or air dirty laundry of individuals when really what we're trying to do is provide support internally".

"I'm learning everyday, not just about Harry," Buckley said.



"I'm learning about myself, I'm learning about what the group is capable of because I thought this has largely overshadowed what was a committed and very strong team performance on Friday by the 22 that represented the club.



"There are challenges, there's plenty of dark days. You speak to a person like Harry or anyone else in that regard and there's going to be dark days and you need a lot of resilience and strength of character to get through those dark days."

He said the club would help O'Brien by "simply being there for him".



"There are skills that we have internally, and then there are skills that we don't have internally," Buckley said.



"So what we can do is provide the full extent of the resources at our disposal and encourage him to get the help and take the time that he needs externally."

O'Brien spent the weekend in Port Douglas after the club gave him time off.



In a show of support for O'Brien, his teammates allowed him to be the first one on the track this morning in his first public session in a week.

media_camera Harry O'Brien

He took part in most of the drills and didn't show too much discomfort on his injured ankle but left the training session early.

Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said he had been aware of O'Brien's issues, but had not known he would reveal publicly his condition.

McGuire, speaking on his Triple M breakfast program this morning, said the club was giving O'Brien the support he needed.

"This is all about trying to do the right thing, to get him back," he said.

"We have got the best doctors, the best psychiatrists, the best psychologists all working on the case.

media_camera

"We love the guy, so just give him some space.''

O'Brien has been vocal on a range of social issues, and had a run-in with McGuire over his now-infamous King Kong radio gaffe.

O'Brien was outside The Westpac Centre when he told waiting media that the internal dramas at Collingwood were secondary to his personal problems.

He said he had received a lot of support from Collingwood over his troubles.

"But this is my personal experience and I have to do this in the public eye, and it's really tough," O'Brien said.

media_camera Harry O'Brien

"So if you guys can just give me a bit of space because I'm going through some real stuff here, real stuff. And it's really tough. Really tough stuff."

The defender said last week's reported dispute with Buckley was of little significance compared to the "real stuff" he was facing each day.

"The issue or whatever you guys have been reporting, that's secondary - this is my real stuff, you know?" he said.

"And look the club's been fantastic in supporting me and protecting me, and they've tried to do that ... but I'm going through some real stuff right here and I have to do it in the public eye and it's tough.

"That's the real issue here. You know, my demons that I'm starting to face.

"I just rattle off those issues and there's even more, even more that I don't feel comfortable in sharing.

"I know this is all speculation, but you want to speculate on something? Why don't you speculate on my history of sexual abuse?

"You want to speculate on some real stuff? Speculate on that. So please give me my space."

Buckley and O'Brien spoke yesterday about the star's issues, which had included the demand for an apology from the senior coach in front of the playing group.

O'Brien took offence when Buckley asked him if he was fine with the coach using a provocative nickname for Paul Seedsman when discussing match-ups.

Teammates have dubbed Seedsman "Lez" because of his close-cropped hairstyle.

O'Brien was upset that he was being labelled precious, rather than being offended by Seedsman's nickname.

Collingwood had concerns for O'Brien given the way he flew into a rage at senior officials, and was given time off as a circuit-breaker.

McGuire yesterday said O'Brien was not a destabilising influence despite his disagreement with Buckley.

"The thing I love about football is you've got to have individuals around the place," McGuire said.

"Then you have people in positions of authority who say: 'OK, now we need to just pull ourselves together here and work through an issue'.

"There are (issues) every week in football clubs. Not much gets out (but) sometimes these things do. Harry's a really popular guy."

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- Glenn McFarlane, AAP, Jon Ralph, Ben Broad