Ablett dislocated his left shoulder against Collingwood on July 5 and after days of advice and speculation opted for surgery that ended his 2014 campaign.
The dual Brownlow medallist returned to Metricon Stadium last week to resume work on the stationary bike with his left shoulder in a sling.
Speaking to goldcoastfc.com.au for the first time since surgery, Ablett revealed that talking to his father was pivotal in his decision.
"He's had a dislocated shoulder before and we spoke about what he went through," he said.
"We spoke about the short-term and long-term and felt the right decision to make was to go in for surgery.
"I didn't want to be running around in those last three weeks, running around at 50 per cent worrying if my shoulder was going to pop out again or not, and also thinking long-term as well, the rest of my football career and life after football as well.
"In the end it was an easy decision to make."
Ablett was told there was an 80 per cent chance of the shoulder popping out again if he chose to skip surgery, strengthen it, and try returning inside five weeks.
"I hate missing games, every player hates missing games, and I'm just a really competitive person that loves to be out there helping the team win each week," he said.
"It's improving every day. Still a little bit of pain there and I'm still struggling to sleep, but that's all part of it."
Gold Coast has won neither of its matches against Western Bulldogs and the Brisbane Lions since its skipper's injury, and are now 0-7 without him playing since the team's inauguration.
Ablett is expected to be back in full training by the start of pre-season in November.
