The 20-year-old did not play an AFL game in 2014 after he suffered a heavy knock to his left shoulder during a VFL match in March, which later required season-ending surgery.
But in good news for the Hawks, the talented on-baller has been able to get his body right and was able to participate in full contact drills on day one of pre-season training for first-to-fourth year players on Monday.
"It's good to be back out here with all the boys on day one of pre-season, so I'm really excited to get cracking for next year," Anderson told hawthornfc.com.au.
"It was pretty frustrating towards the end of the year, but it happens in footy and just getting back out there and doing skills and getting my body right for next year … that's what I'm looking forward to and that's a new challenge.
"The shoulder's fine, it's 100 per cent. I'm looking forward to pre-season and getting bigger and better."
The shoulder injury followed a wretched run of luck for the Northern Territory product.
After playing six games and earning a NAB AFL Rising Star nomination in his debut season, Anderson was then hospitalised by a bout of pneumonia last November.
He missed Hawthorn's pre-season camp to South Africa and, after a delayed start to pre-season, suffered the shoulder injury in his first game back.
As his teammates prepared for last year's finals series, Anderson steadily built his fitness in non-contact training and is now desperate to get his career back on track.
"I can't wait to get back into it. I'm looking forward to round one and the pre-season games coming up, and just getting my body right until then is the most important thing for now," he said.
"It's my second pre-season of the year so I'm pretty excited getting the footy in my hands and doing the contact drills that I've been missing."
Anderson is targeting a comeback in Hawthorn's first NAB Challenge match against Collingwood at Launceston's Aurora Stadium on February 26.
The Hawks' full squad will be back for pre-season training on December 2, although senior players Brian Lake, Isaac Smith and Jonathan Simpkin have returned early.
