MELBOURNE young gun Matthew Bate remains optimistic he will play in Monday’s Queen’s Birthday clash against arch-rival Collingwood at the MCG.

Bare suffered a hand injury during the third quarter of last Sunday’s match against St Kilda at Telstra Dome, but played out the game.

And he is confident he will be right to go against the Magpies.

“It’s a bit sore and swollen, but it’s coming along well and it’s come up better than I thought it would,” Bate told melbournefc.com.au

“There’s no breaks or anything in it, so I think my chance this week are really good.

“I’ve just been icing it and compressing it and trying to keep the swelling down.

“I’m just trying to make the recovery as quick as possible.”

Bate, who finished third in Melbourne’s best and fairest last year, has played 37 matches for the red and blue since debuting in 2006.