Thomas gets strong backing from Buckley Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has backed Dale Thomas to return to his AFL All-Australian best - and do it in black and white. Thomas' latest injury setback ends his season and leaves his 157-game career at the crossroads. This is his third ankle injury since round 15 last season and the 2011 All-Australian becomes a restricted free agent at the end of the season. But despite inevitable interest from other clubs, Buckley is confident Thomas will re-sign with the Magpies. He also compared Thomas to Essendon's James Hird and St Kilda's Nick Riewoldt, two other players who had overcome serious injury problems to continue their stellar playing careers. "You don't write off players who have been champions, players who have proved they can play at a level basically above most others - and Dale is definitely in that bracket," Buckley said. We just need to give him time to get his body right. Thomas resumed in the VFL last Saturday - his first game at any level since ankle surgery in May - but lasted less than a half before re-injuring the joint. Collingwood announced on Monday night his season is over and said he would seek advice from specialists in Melbourne and Sydney over the next few days. Well before this latest setback, there was strong speculation that Carlton were interested in snaring Thomas. "Clearly there's going to be a lot of focus on his contractual status," Buckley said. We still are absolutely committed to Daisy beyond today. In our conversations, our dealings, that's basically been the accepted outcome. He'd love some security, he'd love some certainty about what his future looks like. He's given great service to this football club and I'm pretty sure that will continue. Collingwood's loss to Hawthorn last Friday night rules them out of the top four, but they were competitive. They were also coming off big wins over Essendon and Sydney. So Buckley is enthusiastic about what they can still achieve this season. "We're capable of whatever we want to achieve and it won't be because we deserve it, it will be what we earn," he said. Apart from Thomas' season being over, Collingwood also have lost Jamie Elliott and Ben Sinclaire through injury for Friday night's must-win game against West Coast at the MCG. Ruckman Darren Jolly could return, while veteran forward Alan Didak is another potential recall and Ben Kennedy also played well in the VFL. "We're really focussed on Friday night and maintaining the momentum that we've been able to put together over the last three weeks," Buckley said. We lost our last game, but there were elements out of that we liked ... that we can build on. Clearly there were some we didn't get right. Former Hawthorn player Clinton Young, who has had a wretched run with injury this year, could return in the VFL this weekend.