Ryan Abbott is slowly building up his workload after a first pre-season at the Cattery that has been interrupted by two injuries.
The 200cm big man fractured a bone in his leg in a training mishap in December.
He returned to the track in January, only to suffer a stress reaction in his back.
“Whether that’s adapting to the workload or not, I’m not 100 per cent sure,” Abbott told the Geelong Advertiser.
“The frequency and intensity is a pretty big step up from local level, but the more I do it the body will adapt to it.”
Abbott is now hoping to be back to full fitness by the start of the home and away season.
“There is a little bit of frustration just in seeing the other first-year boys out there,” he said.
“But I feel like when I have been able to train I’ve got a lot out of it so far, so it just makes you want to get back as quickly as you can.
“But we aren’t really working on a timeline at the moment. It’s really just how my body is reacting.
“But just week-to-week it’s improving which is good.
“We’re not too concerned with the preseason games, it’s just about trying to get back as soon as possible (for the AFL season) really.”