Collingwood youngster Josh Thomas will celebrate another significant step in his recovery from chronic foot problems with his first VFL appearance for the year on Sunday.

Thomas, 20, will play against the Coburg Tigers at Mantello Holden Oval in his first game since August last year.

The promising midfielder has battled compartment syndrome, calf and foot problems in his short career, and spent a large part of the last year in a moon boot.

He trained with the senior team on Wednesday at Gosch's Paddock, where the news of his impending return was celebrated by his teammates.

"It's been a bumpy road for Josh over the last 18 months in particular," coach Nathan Buckley said afterwards.

"He's had issues with stress reactions in his feet, so we think we've ... found the light at the end of the tunnel.

"He's trained really strongly over the last four to six weeks and he's relatively pain free, so he get the chance to pull the guernsey on and run around and do what all of our players love to do, and that's play the game.

"We take it for granted sometimes but when you see a young fella like Josh go through the ups and downs and obstacles that he's faced and then push through and have the chance to run around and play the game, it reminds you how fortunate you are sometimes."

Senior player Ben Johnson cut a fit figure when he ran laps during the same training session, along with Andrew Krakouer and Brent Macaffer.

The veteran defender had a shoulder reconstruction in early May after hurting himself against the Western Bulldogs.

Buckley said Johnson, 31, was "bullish" about his chances of playing again this year.

"He knew the cameras were going to be out so he thought he'd come and run the catwalk for you," he said.

"He has got a bit of prancer about him. He gets out and has a few shots at goal in front of the coaches or does a bit of hands work, or shows how much flexibility he's got in his shoulder.

"He's very confident he's going to be in the mix towards the end of the year, and he's working diligently towards that."

Jennifer Witham is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenWitham.