Speaking in his press conference earlier this afternoon, Buckley praised Ball's diligence and professional approach to his rehabilitation.
"Bally has been sorely missed. He's a heart and soul type player and his hardness in and around contests has an impact," Buckley said.
"His couple of games at VFL level have been exceptional. But he's not going to come in and be the panacea. He's going to be part of the solution and we're looking forward to him finding his feet."
Ball, who has not played a senior game since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament against Carlton in round three last year, has played in Collingwood's last two VFL games where he has averaged 30 possessions per game.
He has averaged 19.89 possessions in 18 games against Geelong and has laid an average of eight tackles in his last two games against them, including an equal-team high 11 in the 2011 Grand Final.
