EXPERIENCED North Melbourne defender Scott Thompson expects to return to full training in three weeks after groin surgery last month and hopes to line up in the pre-season competition. 

Thompson, 30, missed three of the final four games of 2016 after tearing his adductor in round 22 last year. 

An operation was not opted for at first, as Thompson told nmfc.com.au. 

"We went with the conservative approach, which is normal practice. We just weren't getting the response we needed so we decided to quicken it up with a bit of surgery," Thompson said. 

He is back running and recently worked his way into kicking drills. 

A somewhat odd situation on New Year's Eve saw Thompson slip over his dog's vomit and give the muscle a workout.

"We'd been on holidays. We'd just come back and hadn't changed the dog's water bowl over," Thompson said. 

"He drank some old water and threw it up on the floor. I was in thongs and I didn't see it. I stepped over a Christmas present and just kept on going. 

"It hasn't set me back. (The incident) reiterated I wasn't quite ready but I'm nearly ready to go now." 

Thompson expects to be fine for the home and away season.

"I'd hope to be fully training in three weeks and hopefully play a couple of (JLT Community Series games) and be ready for round one," he said.