DANIEL Wells has hit back at critics who have questioned his ability to play through injury, dismissing such judgments as completely baseless.

And the North Melbourne midfielder says such false perceptions were fuelled by the Roos' failure to adequately support him against media criticism while he was struggling to play with osteitis pubis earlier in his career.

Wells has not played since he was substituted out of North's round two win over the Brisbane Lions with Achilles tendon soreness.

Despite early indications that Wells would only miss a few weeks, the injury lingered and the midfielder was forced to have surgery last week in an attempt to get back before the end of the season.

The longer Wells was sidelined this year, the louder the calls have become that he was fit enough to return, with his determination to play at 100 per cent fitness the only thing preventing him from doing so.

Wells addressed these criticisms in a podcast on the club's website, saying they were disappointing and factually incorrect.

"You don't worry about it too much. I'm a lot older now, you understand that people obviously need to say things just to say things sometimes, and (with) a lot of those things there's not much weight behind it," Wells said.

"If you worry about it too much you almost give them a bit of satisfaction on these issues.

"I actually know exactly where it's at. My coaches and teammates know where it's at and (so does) my family, and that's pretty much where it ends."

Wells said he had attempted to train through his Achilles soreness but when he tried to run at top speed the muscle effectively "shut down".

The 30-year-old said his recent surgery had been a "last resort" when he felt like a piece of glass was being jabbed into the muscle every time he tried to run.

Wells has had a horror run with injury in recent years.

Last season, he missed 14 weeks with a Lisfranc foot injury and required painkilling injections to play in North's finals campaign.

Late in the 2011 season, he played with potentially life-threatening blood clots in his lungs, which were only detected after he had season-ending shoulder surgery.

And in 2009 he battled through a severe case of osteitis pubis that surgeons later said was one of the worst they had seen.

Wells said the lack of support he received from North through that latter injury contributed to the perception he couldn't play through pain.

"I copped a bit of media flak over that, even the coaches were probably being fed the information that wasn't exactly true," he said.

"Everyone was getting frustrated. Even 'Laids' (then coach Dean Laidley) felt a bit of the pressure because he asked me how I was going.

"I was pretty honest. I said, 'It's bloody sore mate, I can't even run with it.

"That's something that probably didn't help me (or) my persona as a young kid. I didn't think I got supported greatly by the club in that instance.

"Obviously the club can really set you up and let people know that this is what this young fella is going through.

"They sort of realised later on after I ended up having surgery later that year the extent of how bad it was."

Wells said he not given up hope of playing in the finals if North qualified and was ideally aiming to return in four to six weeks.

"I've almost missed two full seasons the last couple of years, so I'm definitely excited to play," he said.

"I want to go out and show my worth and actually do well for the club and do well for myself and make sure we all get something out of it."