DEFENDER Rhyce Shaw has labelled himself "a certainty" to play in round one as the Sydney Swans veteran recovers from knee surgery.

Shaw ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in round 22 last season and quickly made the decision to undergo the LARS procedure, which has a much faster recovery time than a traditional knee reconstruction.

The 32-year-old, who also ruptured a knee back in 2005, is now a huge advocate of LARS and is thrilled with his progress.

"I'm a certainty to play round one - it's just whether Horse (coach John Longmire) picks me or not," Shaw told the Swans' website.

"The knee is feeling great.

"I can't speak highly enough of the docs and the physios for getting me back this quick.

"You pretty much walk straight out of hospital (after the LARS surgery) and there's no real recovery period and you get straight into it.

"There's swelling for a couple of weeks, but you just push through that kind of stuff and it's just amazing."

Shaw hasn't had any setbacks during his recovery and is already undertaking some drills and ball work with the main training group.

"At my age to get out on the track is really exciting," he said.

"I could have trained two months ago, but the docs wanted to be really cautious and it's a credit to them because it's been a really good preparation.

"I've had no hiccups – touch wood – and it's really good and really smooth."

The Swans still have a number of players on limited programs as they recover from injury, including Adam Goodes, Mike Pyke, Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Sam Reid, Kurt Tippett and Tommy Walsh.

Injuries were a major factor for the club throughout 2013 and Shaw is hopeful of a better run for the Swans this coming season.

"There have probably been a few too many in rehab over the off-season, but we're all getting better at the right time, so it's really positive for the club," he said.

"The more people we have out on the track, the more we push the guys who are in the side and it makes everyone better.

"So all the way from rehab to the top it's been really good."

Twitter: @AFL_JD