GEELONG skipper Joel Selwood is increasingly likely to overcome an ankle injury to play in Friday night's qualifying final against Richmond.

Selwood missed the last three rounds of the season after undergoing ankle surgery, but did individual drills and also trained with the main group for a period on Saturday.

Coach Chris Scott is pleased with his captain's progress as he ramps up his bid to face the Tigers at the MCG.

"He looked pretty good ... I think it's looking more likely than unlikely," Scott told the Nine Network on Sunday.

"In terms of his recovery from injury he's a bit of a freak."

If Selwood plays against Richmond his time on the sidelines will be just 35 days, which is significantly shorter than the usual recovery time for an operation to fix an ankle syndesmosis issue.

The Cats finished second to earn a double chance and certainly won't rush Selwood, regardless of how keen he is to resume.

"We do need to be a little bit careful with Joel because I suspect he'll just say, 'I'm right'," Scott continued.

"We're optimistic we've got a bit of footy in front of us after this weekend, so the things to consider are, 'Will he do further damage?' And we're really confident that's not the case.

"It's different to a soft-tissue issue where you can feel really good then, bang, it goes and you can miss four weeks.

"The downside with this is a little bit lower. It's more 'can he handle the pain?' and 'can he function well enough?'."

More than 95,000 people are expected at the MCG for the first finals meeting between the two sides in 22 years.