GEELONG ruckman Hamish McIntosh remains hopeful he will regain full fitness in time to play a role in the latter part of the Cats' home and away campaign.
After having LARS surgery to repair the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in August last year, the 28-year-old was sidelined by soreness in his knee and Achilles early this year.
Having been close to lining up in the VFL in May, he has now been grounded by an ankle complaint that is proving tough for the club's medical staff to treat.
"Obviously, body-wise, I'm still battling a little bit," McIntosh told the AFL Exchange podcast.
"It's been a long 12 or 13 months now since I've played a game of footy. It's been frustrating.
"Now my knee feels really good, really strong. That's actually not the problem at the moment.
"I've had a few complications on the other side of my body. At the minute it's just a little ankle issue. It's nothing serious. It's annoying more than anything."
McIntosh is currently spending a lot of time running on an anti-gravity treadmill as he tries to keep his aerobic fitness up.
"If all goes to well, I'll hopefully play some footy in a couple of weeks, and if I could play in some finals it would be great," he said.
"But I've got a lot of work to do."
The injuries have proved very frustrating for the 203cm big man, who is yet to play a game at any level for the Cats.
"Going to a new club, the best way to earn the respect of all the boys, and probably get to know everyone, is out on the training track and playing in wins and letting your form do the talking," McIntosh said.
"I haven't been able to do any of that. When you're in rehab, you're timetable's a lot different.
"You're in the gym while the boys are out on the track, so getting to bond with everyone has been a lot different because I just haven't been out there.
"So it's been difficult. It hasn't been the smoothest start.
"But in saying that, the club has been fantastic, the boys have been fantastic, and I just want to get out there and play some footy.
"It's all tracking OK. It's nothing serious, so … I've got to build up again and have another go at coming back in the next couple of weeks."
Adam McNicol covers Geelong news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter at @AFL_AdamMcNicol
