COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley has jokingly suggested his players should be banned from playing with their dogs after midfielder Jordan De Goey was ruled out of the club's opening match with a broken hand.

De Goey told the club he broke his hand when it hit a door as he threw a toy to his pet dog.

The midfielder, who turned 21 last week, becomes the second Magpie to suffer an injury playing with his pet in a little over 12 months.

His teammate Jeremy Howe missed pre-season games last year after he said he had injured his finger throwing a Frisbee with his dog.

De Goey will miss the season opener against the Western Bulldogs, and several more weeks, as his hand – which has been broken before – requires surgery.

"If we don't laugh, we'll cry about it," Buckley said.

"He was playing with his dog and he went to throw a toy – it wasn't a Frisbee – and he caught his hand on the edge of a doorhandle."

Levi Greenwood is also on the sidelines with a troublesome hip requiring surgery.

Greenwood has been trying to overcome the injury for the past three weeks, but the Magpies decided on Friday that surgery was the best course of action and he will now be out for a further four to five weeks.

The injured duo adds to a list of unavailable players that also contains Jamie Elliott and Daniel Wells.

Elliott remains doubtful for round two against Richmond as well due to his ankle injury while Wells is a week-to-week proposition, but the Magpies are hopeful he will return in round three.

Buckley said despite the bad news released on Monday morning, the side was in good shape heading into round one, with 38 players available and the competition for spots hot.

"We're going to leave some blokes out who deserve to play this week," he said.

New faces with a chance of being selected included Chris Mayne, Will Hoskin-Elliott, Lynden Dunn and elevated rookie Henry Schade, who were all recruited to the club in the off-season.