Buckley provided his thoughts on injuries to key midfielders Dale Thomas (ankle) and Dayne Beams (quad), saying that the club would prefer that Thomas undergo ankle surgery now rather than compromise his fitness by playing him at 75 per cent of his physical capacity for the remainder of the season.
While conceding that there are "massive reservations" as to whether Thomas will be able to return to full fitness before the season is over, Buckley said that the fate of Thomas' season will ultimately be determined by the success of his rehab and recovery.
Buckley also sympathised with Beams who is dealing with "scar tissue that is struggling to heal" in his quad. Beams originally sustained the injury at Collingwood's final training session ahead of its opening round bout with North Melbourne and won't be seen until after the bye weekend in round 13.
The coach also addressed topics such as the potential return of Alan Didak, the way the club responded internally to the loss to Fremantle, the rise and rise of 26-year-old rookie Sam Dwyer and the loss to Sydney in last year's Preliminary Final which, according to Buckley, still "burns a little bit".
Stay tuned to collingwoodfc.com.au for a full report from this afternoon's press conference.
