The Collingwood star has carried the injury to his left wrist for three years and it had got to the point where it was affecting his life outside of football.
Having had the same operation on his right wrist five years ago, Swan is now looking forward to playing with two strong hands for the first time since 2008.
"I'm actually really looking forward to being able to tackle with two hands and be able to fend off with my left hand and just be able to use both hands without hurting," Swan said on Monday night.
"I hurt my right one about five years ago so I haven't really had two strong hands for about five years so it will be nice to have that.
"I've played with [the left one] for about three years but it got to the point where it wasn't really affecting my footy; it was affecting everyday life.
"I'm left-handed so I couldn't write, couldn't pick up pens, papers, plates. I couldn't pick my dog up with my left hand.
"It got to the point where I really needed it so it had to be done."
Swan won't be engaging in ball drills before Christmas and thinks it will be February or even March before he joins in with the main group.
He is, however, confident of being fit for round one.
The Wash-up: Collingwood
Renowned for his aversion to the grind of pre-season training, Swan admitted he was disappointed his summer program would largely consist of running.
"Touch is one thing where I seem to get back into the swing of things OK; probably the fitness side is the thing I need to work on so unfortunately for me, all I'll be able to do pre-Christmas is running," he said.
"The footy club are pretty happy about that.
"I'm not, but it might be a blessing in disguise because while I can't touch the footy, all they'll do is flog me around the running track.
"I'm not looking forward to pre-season but hopefully the benefit will really show at the start of next year."
Coach Nathan Buckley said he was confident Swan wouldn't lack for the ball training he would miss out on before the end of the year.
He also said the fact the star midfielder had carried the complaint for so long was an example of the physical adversity players often faced behind the scenes.
"These trials and tribulations footballers go through, they're not always publicised, although quite often [they have been] at our club this year," Buckley said.
"For Swanny, he performs under duress as do most of the footballers that are in this squad of 40 in the All Australian.
"They're elite performers under duress, under pressure, every weekend basically.
"Swanny is no different; he's been as a consistent performer over the last six or seven years as anyone."
Twitter: @AFL_JenPhelan
Renowned for his aversion to the grind of pre-season training, Swan admitted he was disappointed his summer program would largely consist of running.
"Touch is one thing where I seem to get back into the swing of things OK; probably the fitness side is the thing I need to work on so unfortunately for me, all I'll be able to do pre-Christmas is running," he said.
"The footy club are pretty happy about that.
"I'm not, but it might be a blessing in disguise because while I can't touch the footy, all they'll do is flog me around the running track.
"I'm not looking forward to pre-season but hopefully the benefit will really show at the start of next year."
Coach Nathan Buckley said he was confident Swan wouldn't lack for the ball training he would miss out on before the end of the year.
He also said the fact the star midfielder had carried the complaint for so long was an example of the physical adversity players often faced behind the scenes.
"These trials and tribulations footballers go through, they're not always publicised, although quite often [they have been] at our club this year," Buckley said.
"For Swanny, he performs under duress as do most of the footballers that are in this squad of 40 in the All Australian.
"They're elite performers under duress, under pressure, every weekend basically.
"Swanny is no different; he's been as a consistent performer over the last six or seven years as anyone."
Twitter: @AFL_JenPhelan
