Collingwood captain Nathan Buckley will return to football on Sunday and is confident the AFL's most-discussed hamstring is ready to handle it.

Buckley will play with the Magpies' VFL affiliate side Williamstown, giving even more prominence to the game on Sunday against Box Hill at Box Hill.

The game was already notable because Hawks veteran Angelo Lekkas will resume for Box Hill after suffering a mild stroke in late February.

It will be Buckley's first game since undergoing radical hamstring surgery after aggravating an injury while playing for Collingwood in round one.

The injury was initially feared to be serious enough to end the Magpie skipper's career, but after training at top pace for the past three weeks, Buckley is confident of a successful return.

"I've basically been running at top speed, a bit of body work, changing direction, and endurance work and there is nothing more that I can do except play a game to test against match intensity," he told the club's website.

"I'm looking forward to that opportunity.

"It's been a while - 11 weeks today - and it's been a long recovery since the initial setback in round one and I'm looking forward to just playing some footy.

"Not knowing what (the injury) was, was the hardest part, but I'm a lot more positive now.

"There are no guarantees with any of this, but I'm really looking forward to getting back on the park and finding out a little bit more about the body again."

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