DANIEL Menzel has spoken of the "agony" he suffered after injections for groin soreness backfired and left him struggling to walk.

The luckless Geelong forward booted 15 goals in five games in a red-hot start to the season before reportedly having two cortisone injections which had adverse effects.

"I was OK 24 hours later and about 48 hours later I was in agonising pain where I literally couldn’t walk because every time I moved my joint would move as well," Menzel told the To The Final Bell podcast.

"It was agony. I actually remember it was (before) the Sydney game here (at Geelong in round six), the week that I was going to miss anyway, and I was in hospital.

"They put me on morphine, endone and everything else.  

"I just remember thinking (as) I walked into the hospital 'I hope there's just no cameras or anything because this looks like I've done something seriously bad'.

"For a good week I couldn't walk properly and couldn't train for a month all up.

"It was frustrating because I knew every week that went by that I couldn't train it would cost me a couple of weeks in reconditioning as well. 

"Rapt that I'm now able to actually train and play, but at the same time it was a long 8-10 weeks." 

Cats doctors still haven’t fully diagnosed what caused Menzel's issue.

The 26-year-old, who has overcome four knee reconstructions, was disappointed his first full pre-season at Geelong went to waste, especially after signing a one-year deal for 2018.

"I felt like it was the first year I was able to show everyone in the competition and including people at this club what I can actually do," Menzel said.

"To put it together for a year consistently was my goal, so that was the most disappointing thing. 

"It was a battle for a month but once I was able to get up and about it was alright 'let's just focus on getting back and not worry too much about what's happened'." 

Menzel booted two goals in his VFL return last round and is slated to line-up against Frankston on Sunday. 

He is expected to play limited game time before putting his hand up for an AFL return against the Crows at Adelaide Oval next Thursday night.    

After a shock loss to the Bulldogs, the eighth-placed Cats are facing a critical stretch against finals rivals Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne over the next three weeks.