COLLINGWOOD is confident young midfielder Josh Thomas has finally turned the corner in his fight against a foot injury and has predicted a possible return to the VFL in a month.
Thomas, 20, has endured a dismal run with shin, calf and foot problems since coming to the club in the 2009 NAB AFL Draft.
After spending most of the past nine months in a moon boot - and following another bout of surgery a month ago - the Pies are optimistic the worst is behind him.
"We're actually starting to see blue sky for the first time for probably 12 months," coach Nathan Buckley told AFL.com.au this week.
"He's coming back. He's had a wretched 18 months and you couldn't possibly script it any worse for what he's had to cope with.
"We're pretty confident we'll see him back in four to six weeks playing in the VFL and get some solid footy into him and see where we go from there."
Buckley said Thomas arrived at the club having battled a fracture in one foot, before he developed problems with the other last year.
He also suffered shin problems in his early days as a Pie and a calf injury that kept him from the first five rounds of 2010.
Buckley said it initially appeared as though the young Queenslander's career was running close to that of former Magpie Lee Walker.
Walker played just 16 AFL games between 1993 and 1997 with three knee reconstructions and other assorted injuries hampering his career.
"[Walker] was just getting a bit of a start and then dropping off and never really got a good run at it," Buckley said.
"Josh for a time was in that situation.
"We've had a few really strong chats and he's been at the crossroads a couple of times over the last couple of months [but] we think it's resolved now."
Thomas is due to start running on Friday, which Buckley says is an exciting step given the upside of the inside midfielder.
"We're really confident and positive we may have broken through and we'd love to see him wearing a Collingwood guernsey in a month or so," he said.
"When he's up and about, he's an elite clearance player with great hands, uses the ball really well by hand and by foot.
"At his best, we clearly believe he can be an AFL level player so we want to give him that chance."
How collingwoodfc.com.au saw Thomas' 2011 VFL Season:
Missed the first half of 2011 with shin splints but broke into the side in the Round 14 loss to Box Hill and didn’t look back. Gave the side tremendous service at the stoppages where his clean ball handling shone through. Is a strong tackler, and pushed for senior selection late in the year.
Read the 2011 VFL season review here.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs.
Jennifer Witham is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenWitham
