DYSON Heppell is confident he will be fit for Essendon's round one clash with the Sydney Swans after minor knee surgery last week.
The club's reigning best and fairest winner went under the knife after feeling sore at training, with surgeons needing to remove cartilage to free him of discomfort.
But the All Australian midfielder believes he is on track to feature in the Bombers' meeting with the Swans on Saturday, April 4.
Sheedy comes 'home' to Essendon
"I'm well and truly hopeful of being on the cards for round one," Heppell told the club's website.
"I should have a good base under my belt by then so hopefully it all settles well, but I should be right to go.
"The surgery all went well. There was only a bit of loose cartilage in there so it was a pretty simple procedure. But I'm walking around freely and have a bit more movement in it now so all is going well."
The 22-year-old grew in prominence last season, becoming Essendon's most productive midfielder. He averaged 28 disposals and five clearances a game, and recently signed a five-year deal with the club through to the end of 2020.
He is eyeing a return to full training by late next week.
"I'm now a week in after surgery and I'm doing some strength exercises for the quad so I don't lose too much muscle mass around that area," Heppell said.
"But I'll start ramping up the cross training this week and hopefully get into some running early next week so we'll progress from there.
"If all goes well, I'll ramp up my running next week and hopefully by Friday or early the following week I'll be back in with the full group."
Essendon plays Greater Western Sydney on Friday night at Spotless Stadium in its second NAB Challenge game.
