Collingwood are excited to welcome back one of their favourite midfielders, Luke Ball, in time for Saturday night’s rivalry clash against the Cats.

The Magpies' senior coach, Nathan Buckley, speaks highly of Ball and believes his return will have a huge impact on the team’s game this weekend, after being sidelined for months with a knee injury.

"Bally has been sorely missed. He's a heart and soul type player and his hardness in and around contests has an impact," Buckley said in his press conference today.

"His couple of games at VFL level have been exceptional. But he's not going to come in and be the panacea. He's going to be part of the solution and we're looking forward to him finding his feet."

Luke Ball has played 18 games against Geelong during his career, averaging 19.89 disposals per game. The experienced midfielder has also endured two devastating defeats by Geelong, including the 2009 grand final when he played for St Kilda, and again in 2011 when Geelong overthrew Collingwood.