Collingwood have lost two important pieces of their defensive set-up for Sunday’s crunch clash against Fremantle, with Dan Houston joining Jeremy Howe on the sidelines.

It comes as the Magpies confirmed 2023 Norm Smith Medal winner Bobby Hill would miss a fourth-straight game, with the string of star absences set to fuel the Dockers’ hopes of causing an MCG upset.

Houston is expected to miss two games after pulling up sore from Collingwood’s loss to Gold Coast last weekend, while Howe faces a similar timeline after being subbed out of that match folllowing an adductor strain.

“Dan Houston was able to complete the match against the Gold Coast Suns but scans early in the week revealed he has sustained a mild abdominal strain,” the Magpies released in a statement on Wednesday.

The Pies will give fellow first-choice defender Billy Frampton another week to recover from his calf issue, meaning the ladder leaders will be without three of their best backmen as they look to overcome Freo.

Hill has missed Collingwood’s past three matches due to personal reasons, and while he returned to training last weekend, the club said his focus was “on resuming full training before a timeline is placed on his return”.

The Magpies are set to regain premiership trio Brody Mihocek, Beau McCreery and Pat Lipinski for Sunday’s clash, where they will look to continue a strong recent record against Justin Longmuir’s side.

The Dockers haven’t beaten Collingwood in their past five attempts dating back to 2022, with last year’s thrilling draw at Optus Stadium the closest they’ve come.

Longmuir said his side would embrace the challenge of battling the best in the business.

“There’s no bigger challenge in footy than going to the MCG and taking on Collingwood,” he said.

“I understand that you’ve got to take on them as a team and they’re the best team in the comp, but you also take on the occasion and the crowd.

“We’ve spoken about that, we’re going to embrace that challenge. It’s a good opportunity to see where our footy sits.”