GEELONG midfielder Mitch Duncan said no-one should be surprised he's been selected to play against the Western Bulldogs and his recovery from a foot injury has taken as long as originally expected.

Duncan broke the fifth metatarsal in his foot against the Sydney Swans at ANZ Stadium in round seven and has not played a game since.

He had surgery soon after, and nine weeks will have elapsed when he returns on Saturday since he hurt the foot.

"I don't have any soreness in my foot," Duncan said on Friday morning.

"It does feel a little bit different because there is a big metal rod [to] get used to. I have trained strongly for the last two main sessions and feel really confident getting out there."

Duncan had returned to good form just before the injury struck .

However he returns to the action with the Cats in a mini-slump having lost two straight games and without their skipper Joel Selwood, who is serving a one-week suspension.  

Duncan admitted Selwood was a big loss, but said the club had to take the approach that it was "one soldier out, one soldier in and we've got to play to his (Selwood's) standard".

The 24-year-old said he hoped Cats' supporters would get behind the team and make it difficult for the opposition at Simonds Stadium.  

"We want teams to come down here and fear us, playing in front of a pretty brutal crowd and a loud crowd," Duncan said.