SAM WALSH says he is tracking well in his recovery from back surgery, but the star Carlton midfielder won't be rushing his return.

Walsh underwent an operation just before Christmas that removed a portion of a bulging disc in his back and relieved pressure on a nerve.

In announcing the surgery, the Blues ruled Walsh out of at least the first four rounds of the season and earmarked that point of the year to set a timeline for his return.

"I think we're going to stick to that month, and by then, we should have a really good look at where we're heading," Walsh said on Thursday when asked when he expects to play again.

"I think for me, I want to come back the best player I can, and wherever that lands, I think we'll reassess at that month's time.

"It's been a good five-week block of rehab for me since surgery. I feel like I'm really tracking in the right direction.

"There's obviously a fair bit to go, but it's great to be back out there amongst the group at times, and feeling like I'm getting something out of my days, which has been great."

Having been forced to sit out the crucial round 23 clash against Collingwood last year, a heartbreaking loss that saw the Blues miss out a ground-breaking return to finals, Walsh is conscious of not rushing his return.

"I definitely learnt the hard way last year about how cruel it can be missing games at the end of the year," he said.

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"I think like anyone, you want to have a body of work that sets you up for playing ... a really solid block of football that leads into back-end footy, because that's when it really counts. Standing here now, I'd love to say I'll be fit and firing at the end of the year."

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Walsh is beginning to ramp up his training after a strict focus on rehabilitation in the weeks immediately after going under the knife.

"At this stage, it's been a solid enough running base. I think there's a lot of rehab and strengthening around the back and other area. Probably the main positive for me is I can work on other parts of my body and certainly learn a fair bit about myself.

"I haven't looked too far ahead, which sounds a little bit cliched. With the physios at the moment, every session there's incremental gains that's involved. But we haven't put a timeline on tackling stuff just yet.

"Certainly with the back, there's some strict timelines we have to follow. But now we've hit the six-week mark, we can start to intro into a lot of things. But you certainly learn how many aspects there are to footy when you're intro-ing to all that stuff."

Walsh was speaking on Thursday at the announcement of a five-year extension to Carlton's co-major partner, Hyundai.