Cornes, 29, underwent surgery on his troublesome knee following Port Adelaide's round 10 loss to Collingwood, and was expected to miss at least six weeks.
However, a quicker-than-expected recovery will see the dual All-Australian make a comeback just one month after going under the knife.
Cornes said he only needed to get through Wednesday’s main training session to play against the Dees on Sunday.
“We had a really big training session yesterday [Sunday] with some match simulation and a fair bit of running as well. The knee felt really good and has pulled up well,” Cornes said on Monday.
“It’s been really hard watching for the last month. When the team’s not going well, it’s not the best being on the sidelines. You want to go out and help the boys.”
Cornes had a procedure to repair torn cartilage in his knee following the win over Adelaide in round 16 last year, but was still struggling to get up for games nine months later.
The premiership player said he regretted having surgery on the joint last season.
“Looking back on it, I probably wouldn’t have had the operation done last year ... I would’ve just tried to push through [the discomfort],” Cornes said.
“It wasn’t that the surgeon got the operation wrong; it just didn’t heal, and that’s why I didn’t get it [the procedure] done years ago.
"[Club doctor] Peter Barnes and the other doctors and physios weren’t really confident in that kind of operation because they don’t have a high success rate.”
Last month, Cornes underwent a different procedure on his knee, which involved some smoothing of the bone and the removal of a growth and other floating debris.
The versatile veteran said he felt more confident in the joint this time around.
“It’s recovered a lot quicker than what I had done last year, and it’s feeling a lot better as well,” he said.
“The surgeon said that the knee has definitely got a couple of years, at least, left in it if it all goes to plan.
“I still think I’ve got some good footy in front of me. I’m not at all happy with where I’m sitting right now and what I’ve done over the last couple of years. I’m a pretty proud person and I want to play the footy I know I can and help the boys get back into the finals.”
Port Adelaide appears to be back on track after a convincing 48-point win over the Brisbane Lions on Saturday.
The Power have games against cellar dwellers Melbourne and West Coast in the coming fortnight, but Cornes said his side’s topsy-turvy form meant they couldn’t afford to take any team lightly.
“We saw on the weekend that Melbourne is really up and about at the moment probably due to the Jim Stynes factor,” he said.
“The passion they [the Dees] played with on the weekend was outstanding. I expect that not just to be a one-week thing; they’ll try and carry that through the rest of the year.
“We’ll be ready for that, and this game is just really important. We’re 7-7 and right amongst it again, but we really need this game to get back up in the eight.”
