MITCH Clark has set himself the goal of rejoining the main training group after the Christmas/New Year break.

The big forward is on the comeback trail after calf problems sidelined him during the second half of the 2015 season.

But the 28-year-old has been putting in plenty of work on the training track since starting his pre-season program, and he is upbeat about his progress.

“It’s been great so far,” Clark told geelongcats.com.au. 

“I’ve obviously had a bit of an injury-interrupted year in 2015 and I’m just trying to get the body right.

“Up and running now and looking forward to joining in some more training before Christmas.

“Then hopefully, fingers crossed, after that I’ll be ready to go and getting myself ready for the games.”

Clark played eight AFL games and kicked 14 goals in his first season with the Cats.

But given he didn’t play after the round nine loss to West Coast in Perth, Geelong’s fitness staff are being cautious as they build up his workload.

“I could probably be in all the drills at the moment,” Clark said.

“But we’re sort of just holding back a little bit at the moment and just taking our time, making sure I can get this old body in the best shape that it can be.

“It’s a long pre-season, and this is my 11th year [in the AFL] now, so I think we’ve sort of learnt how to manage my body a bit better with the staff down here.

“I’m really just trying to stay patient and get as much work in as possible.”