LAST weekend Matthew Scharenberg returned to the Queen Elizabeth Oval in Bendigo where the young Magpie was forced to put his career on hold for the second time in six months.

The 19-year-old watched as his Collingwood teammates met Carlton in the NAB Challenge clash on Sunday before staying for a two-day Australia Post Community camp in the region.

Scharenberg's previous visit to Bendigo on August 22 last year ended badly when he was helped from the QE Oval after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the second quarter of Collingwood's VFL game against Bendigo Gold.

The serious knee injury was not the only setback the promising young defender has dealt with in his fledgling career, with Scharenberg having surgery to remove sesamoid bones in both feet in February last year.

Now almost seven months down the track from knee surgery, the No.6 pick from the 2013 NAB AFL Draft is only one month away from a return to the field.

"It's been extremely tough, but at the same time I've always been conscious of not putting too much pressure on myself," Scharenberg told AFL.com.au.

"Everything that's happened, I haven't really been able to control. Injuries are part of the game and it's just unfortunate that they've occurred at the start of my career."

Scharenberg is entering a critical phase in his comeback, with a two-week transition period set to mark his return to full training with the Magpies.

Collingwood believes the South Australian, who is renowned for the way he reads the play off half-back, could start playing straight away, but the club is wisely being cautious with his return.

"We just need to get three or four weeks of genuine full footy training into him before we take a risk of playing him, but in a physical sense he’s probably ready to go," Magpies director of football Neil Balme told the club website.

"Watch this space with him. It is really good news."

Scharenberg cites the influence of teammate Brent Macaffer, who tore his ACL a day after he did, as a key reason why he has maintained such a positive outlook.

Macaffer said Scharenberg has shown genuine character in the way he has handled the obstacles thrown in his path. 

"He pretty much hasn't had a go at it since the day he's got here, but you can see straight away, just through training with him, how good he's going to be," Macaffer said. 

"He's a very smart guy and anything you tell him to do he goes out and does it to the best of his ability and I've got no doubt this is going to make him so resilient when it comes time for him to pull on the boots."

While watching his Magpies teammates in Bendigo on Sunday, Scharenberg fleetingly pondered what might have been had he not injured his knee on that fateful day last August.

However not one to dwell on things, Scharenberg is looking forward to what his career holds in the future.

"I did have a brief look at the spot (on the ground) where I did my knee," Scharenberg said.

"But I've 100 per cent moved on and that's well in the past now."