The ushering in of the new year has brought with it the fresh start that Josh Thomas needs.

The robust midfielder has been one of the unluckiest players in the competition during his three years at the highest level.

He has played 31 of a possible 55 VFL games since he was plucked out of the Gold Coast under 18s with selection No. 75 in the 2009 National Draft, and only 16 in the past two years.

Three consecutive years of debilitating foot injuries have left him feeling restless in the grandstand but, as he told collingwoodfc.com.au, the clouds are starting to disappear.

“I've had a few injuries over the last three years so getting through to the off-season and being able to do a bit of training and then get back for the start of pre-season ready to go is obviously really important. I'm rapt to have done that,” Thomas said on CTV.

“I haven't really missed any of the pre-season since then so it's really exciting.”

The patchy nature of his career has often left him behind the eight ball when the whips are cracking, resulting in him breaking back into the VFL line up in round 14 in 2011 and one week earlier last year.

Fortunately, Thomas was able to finally string successive games together at the back end of the 2012 season thus allowing him to develop the rhythm he had sorely missed during his first two years.

“That was probably the main thing I lacked, just getting any sort of continuity in my training and playing. I was pretty rusty last year in the VFL but it was good just to get some games into me and hit the ground running.

“I think I was pretty average to be honest but I think the main thing for me was just realising where I'd come from and just getting some game time.

“Obviously every time you want to go out there you want to play as well as you can but trying to keep my expectations in check was important, and to just get the games out. I was happy with that.”

Thomas’ wretched run with foot injuries began with a stress fracture only two months after landing in Melbourne and reached a tipping point last April when he again went under the knife to finally sort out the problems once and for all.

He is thankful for the support of the club during his toughest times, in particular that of his coach Nathan Buckley and Director of Football Geoff Walsh.

“I'd had two operations on my foot and found out I needed another one, so it was probably that period there where I was somewhat questioning what I was going to do with my footy future,” explained Thomas.

“I obviously always wanted to stay and had a chat with Bucks and Walshy and they backed me up. Once I found that out I knew I wanted to stay and it gave me a lot of confidence to just get stuck into my rehab and get back and I'm glad I stuck it out now.

“They were great. Obviously I'd been there for a while and hadn't done much being injured so I could completely understand if they had concerns but they were so good. They supported me which was really important for me as well.”

Although Thomas would have slipped under the radars of most football followers, the time spent in the rehab group during his first three years has tightened his resolve to make every post a winner.

“At the end of the day, you can't rely on injuries.

“I've got the mindset that if I'm going to get a game, I'm going to have to go past some players. I'm not going to rely on injuries or anything.

“It's obviously tight for spots but I've got to back myself in and try and earn my own game.”