Norm Smith medallist Bobby Hill has been ruled out of Collingwood's qualifying final against minor premiers Adelaide.

Hill has been dealing with personal issues for the past three months, playing just one game - as a sub - since round 15.

The dynamic forward didn't appear at Collingwood's main training session on Tuesday and won't face the Crows.

When Collingwood last played a final - the 2023 decider against the Brisbane Lions - Hill produced a matchwinning turn with four goals and a classic speccy.

"We've supported him with his family stuff he's going through," Magpies coach Craig McRae said.

"He missed (Tuesday), but he's training exceptionally well ... potentially set him up for a tilt in the campaign.

"He was never a chance to be available (against Adelaide).

"We'll just get some load into him this week.

"We're rapt to have him back in our program and it's good to see him smiling again."

Collingwood's return to the Adelaide Oval comes just three weeks after the Magpies lost a thriller against the Crows, despite having a whopping 71 inside-50s to 37.

The power-packed Crows won't have star Izak Rankine, who was handed a four-game suspension for directing a homophobic slur at an unnamed Collingwood player during that game.

With airlines bumping up prices for flights to and from Adelaide, Magpies hierarchy have booked a series of buses to take fans to the 1 v 4 match.

McRae joked he was going to drive one of the buses to Adelaide.

"They travel far and wide, our Magpie army," he said.

"112,000 (members) so hopefully we have a loud representation there on Thursday night."

Oliver Caffrey - AAP