The 20-year-old dislocated and fractured his ankle, tore several ligaments and damaged bone and cartilage when he landed awkwardly against Melbourne in round two.
He had a full reconstruction, which has a usual lay-off of around four months.
But, after a balanced rehabilitation schedule and a strong internal motivation to get back into the senior side before the finals, Higgins looks like returning to competition a week early.
"The idea is to play round 15 down at Williamstown, which will be the weekend after the bye in the AFL," Higgins told westernbulldogs.com.au.
"If all goes to plan, maybe even play the week of the bye. Then, I'll play a few games there and see how it feels, and hopefully I'll get a kick.
"Once I got back here [after the operation], I made a conscious effort to be positive around the boys and get stuck into training, and really push myself and try and get back quickly.
"So far, it's been working."
Higgins has played 27 games for the Bulldogs since being drafted with selection No. 11 in the 2005 NAB AFL Draft.
His first season at the club was ruined by an elbow injury, which robbed him of the final 11 games of the year.
Last year, he kicked 26 goals from 20 games and earned an NAB AFL Rising Star nomination – as well as a Brownlow vote – for his performance against Collingwood in round eight.
To read the full account of Higgins' road to recovery, click here
