Click here to listen to the round 19 edition of The Squawk on Magpie Radio

Young midfield gun Scott Pendlebury is close to making a full recovery from a foot injury which club officials initially feared could end his season.

Pendlebury suffered the injury in the opening minutes of the round 17 clash with Brisbane at the MCG, and while early signs weren’t good, scans revealed only a very small fracture.

Speaking on Magpie Radio’s weekly player show The Squawk on Tuesday at the Lexus Centre, the 19-year-old said his foot’s “coming along nicely”.

“At first we thought it was a six-week injury, but it’s well ahead of schedule, and hopefully I’ll be back this week or the week after,” Pendlebury said.

“So I’m pretty excited about that, so I can get out of rehab and get back into the real stuff.”

The round four AFL Rising Star nominee, who is widely considered one of the favourites for the prestigious award, trained on Tuesday and is keen to get back to help the Magpies make their charge towards finals football.

“I did a bit of training (on Tuesday), and pulled out late because I didn’t want to overdo it with the foot, because it’s still a little bit sore.

“So I did that, and hopefully do a little bit more Thursday, and then next week hopefully they let me go and I’ll see how it feels.”

Pendlebury has played every game in 2007, only his second season in the big time after being drafted with the fifth overall pick in the 2005 AFL Draft, and has already emerged as a vital component of the Magpies’ midfield, making it hard for him to watch on against the Blues last Saturday.

“Sitting out was pretty tough, I suppose. The night before was a bit better, because I wasn’t as nervous.

“But watching was a different experience, because you can sit back, and you can watch, and relax a little bit more, even though I was near the coaches box, so you don’t want to be laughing too much.”