COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley is confident Dale Thomas has not played his last game for the Magpies.
Thomas will miss the rest of the season after re-injuring his troublesome right ankle in the VFL against Sandringham at the weekend.
Regardless, Buckley said Thomas – out of contract at the end of this season – and the club would likely reach an agreement in the near future.
"In our conversations and in our dealings that's been the accepted outcome," Buckley said at the Westpac Centre on Tuesday morning.
"There's not a contract signed at the moment, so that's something that (list manager) Derek Hine and Daisy's manager will have to sort out and that will happen over the coming weeks."
The Magpies will seek a second and third opinion to determine the severity of Thomas' injury.
Buckley revealed Thomas re-injured the tendon that was surgically repaired in May, with the club deciding on the "best course of action" following a meeting with surgeons in the next few days.
The Pies coach strongly denied Thomas had returned too soon after the surgery, saying that he had been cleared by the club's medical staff to progress to the next phase of his attempted comeback.
"It's clearly a concern for Daisy and for us. We'll have more information in the next couple of days and we'll decide on the course of action beyond that," he said.
Buckley, though, can understand the interest in Thomas from opposition clubs.
"We're absolutely committed to Daisy beyond today. There's already been speculation and (opposition) clubs wouldn't be doing their jobs if they weren't contacting management etcetera," he said.
Darren Jolly trained strongly on Tuesday morning and is a chance to return this week, after his first hit-out back in the VFL on Saturday.
However, Buckley reiterated that young star Brodie Grundy is the club's No. 1 ruckman at this moment.
He also ruled out the possibility of playing Grundy, Jolly and makeshift ruckman Quinten Lynch all in the same team.
The Magpies will be forced to make at least two changes to the team that fell to Hawthorn by 35 points last Friday night, with Jamie Elliott (hamstring) and Ben Sinclair (shoulder) unavailable.
Young forward Ben Kennedy and dashing defender Paul Seedsman are respective like for like replacements, while Buckley also nominated veteran Alan Didak as a chance to return also.
Meanwhile, Buckley said Clinton Young will play in the VFL this weekend – as long as he pulls up well from this week's training, as he makes a desperate bid to return before the club's finals campaign.
"We're more hopeful than confident of what Youngy's going to be capable of. Never say never. If you're up and about and playing good footy, well then you're in with a chance," he said.
