JUST 21 days after having his jaw shattered against Collingwood, George Burbury was back training with his Geelong teammates.

Burbury sustained multiple breaks to his jaw when he collided with Magpie veteran Nick Maxwell on the opening night of the NAB Challenge on February 12.

The young forward had surgery a day after the incident and said recently his aim was to return to football by round two.

The 21-year-old returned to Simonds Stadium on Wednesday morning, and remarkably was in the thick of the action.

Although off-limits to any sort of contact – he wore a pink hat to signify as much to his teammates – Burbury joined in most of the Cats' full ground match simulation drills at training.

He spent the bulk of his time lined up at half-forward, opposed to Billie Smedts, and was constantly involved as Geelong worked on moving the ball up and down the ground.

The Cats have their final tune-up against North Melbourne at Simonds Stadium this Friday night, before a first-up clash with Adelaide on March 20.

Twitter: @AFL_BenGuthrie