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Classy Collingwood AFL midfielder Dale Thomas is eyeing a long-awaited return to football as soon as Sunday week.
Thomas hasn’t played since early May, after having surgery to deal with a nagging ankle injury, and there were fears at the time he might not play again this season.
The current Magpies injury list still notes his estimated return date as indefinite.
But the 26-year-old trained with the team for the first time on Thursday and believes he’s close to a comeback, potentially in the VFL on August 11.
“I reckon a couple of weeks,” Thomas told radio station Nova 100 on Friday.
“So I think when the boys are up in Sydney, that’s next weekend, I’ll hopefully have a run around.
“Next weekend or the weekend after.
“It probably won’t be in the seniors.”
That timeframe would give Thomas time to build form and fitness in the lower-tier league then push for an AFL comeback before the end of the home and away season.
Regaining a fit Thomas – who trailed only Dane Swan and Scott Pendlebury in the club’s best and fairest count in their 2010 premiership year – would give the Magpies’ finals campaign a huge boost.
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