Having been sidelined since round seven after undergoing ankle surgery, Thomas faces a race against time to return for September, with Saturday’s match providing the 2011 All-Australian with his first chance to stake a claim for senior selection in the coming weeks.
But with only three fixtures remaining before Collingwood faces a likely knockout finals clash, Buckley remains cautious, declaring himself ‘hopeful’ of Thomas’ prospects of demonstrating he has overcome any lingering fitness concerns.
“He’ll play this week on Saturday afternoon. He’s trained pretty well over the last couple of weeks,” Buckley said.
“(Beyond that) it’s probably going to be Dale telling us where he thinks he’s at. It’s probably more hopeful than confident at this stage to be honest (that he will return for finals).”
Proving he is ready for the rigours of September action though is merely the first obstacle which Thomas will need to overcome.
With Collingwood playing its best football of the season to date, Thomas faces a stern task in building an irresistible case for selection and forcing his way into a line-up which has won eight of its last 10 matches, presenting Buckley with an enviable selection dilemma.
This is emphasised by the list of names joining Thomas in the queue for a senior berth, with the likes of Ben Kennedy, Paul Seedsman, Alan Didak and Andrew Krakouer pressing for selection.
Buckley said: “If (Dale) came into the mix, he would be pushing out a player who’s performing pretty well in the recent couple of weeks, and that’s assuming we’re going to come through relatively clean.
“We’re going to have an injury or someone’s form is going to drop off. That’s why you have a squad going into the late part of the home and away, but Daisy’s in the mix.”
“We are hopeful (with Dale), and we’re hopeful with (the currently injured) Clinton Young as well. We’re (also) expecting Andrew Krakouer, Alan Didak, Paul Seedsman to maintain their form and continue pushing up as we do all our listed players.”
