GEELONG coach Chris Scott has declared captain Joel Selwood a certain starter for Friday night's qualifying final against Richmond after making a miraculous recovery from ankle surgery.

Selwood, who had surgery on his left ankle on August 7 to repair a syndesmosis injury he suffered against Sydney in round 20, moved freely at the Cats' training session on Saturday. 

• Forecast the road to the flag with the AFL Finals Predictor

The skipper's return will mark just 35 days since he sustained the injury in a Swan 'Buddy' Franklin tackle – or 32 days after surgery. 

Scott confirmed Selwood would take the field against the Tigers in the sell-out blockbuster at the MCG, barring a late setback. 

"I'm really confident now. I'm happy to say this for the first time that he'll play," Scott told Fox Footy on Monday night.

"(We were) really confident last week without being sure. (We) wanted to see a little bit of the match practice on Saturday and then the big test was how he pulled up. 

"We trained again today and he just looked normal to us. 

"He'll play unless something drastic happens that no one is predicting."

Geelong turned to Dr David Young to save Selwood's season – the same surgeon who performed Western Bulldogs midfielder Tom Liberatore's ankle operation. 

Liberatore injured his ankle in round 19 last season before returning 41 days later for the elimination final against West Coast and the Dogs' premiership run. 

Like Liberatore, Selwood had surgical string inserted into his ankle to hold the tibia and fibula bones together in a bid to fast-track his recovery period.