Carlton defender Andrew McInnes will complete his senior comeback against Collingwood at the MCG tomorrow night – 364 days after making his debut in a Friday night match against the Magpies on the hallowed turf.

McInnes will run out with the seniors for the first time this season, having ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the opening minutes of the ill-fated Gold Coast match at Metricon Stadium on August 25.

He is one of three big inclusions for the Blues, together with the captain Marc Murphy and vice-captain Andrew Carrazzo.

Murphy, who was ruled out of last week’s Sydney match after sustaining a fractured cheekbone a fortnight earlier, will wear a protective helmet, while Carrazzo resumes eight weeks after incurring a calf injury in the fifth round match against Adelaide.

They replace Josh Bootsma who has a low grade hamstring strain, Heath Scotland, who slightly strained an abductor muscle during Tuesday’s training session, and Simon White who is omitted.

Carlton GM – Football Operations Andrew McKay said McInnes had acquitted himself well in the past four lead-up matches for the Northern Blues. As he said: “‘Andy Mac’ has worked really hard to get back, he’s done everything right and he’s progressed very well.”

“He was on schedule to play for the VFL team, but we did expect him to play for six to eight weeks there before he got his touch. Often you find that when players come back from a knee operation it takes them a little while to get into it and find their confidence to attack the ball, but he actually got on the oval and did it straight away.”

McKay, himself an uncompromising backman in his illustrious 244-game career for the club, appreciated McInnes’ no-nonsense approach in his senior appearances prior to the injury setback.

“He’s a good old-style traditional defender isn’t he,” McKay said. “He always got an arm across his opponent, always got to that contest and always managed to make the spoil and bring the ball to ground.

“It’s great to have him back and it’s a great story that we’ve got him back within a year of his debut.”

McKay confirmed that Murphy would wear a helmet into Friday night’s match “for his own confidence more than anything” and reminded of the importance of regaining a quality midfielder.

“Getting Andrew back is also a good thing. He’s obviously been on the sidelines longer than we would have liked”.

McKay expected Scotland and Bootsma to be sidelined for just the one match.