ADELAIDE star Jason Porplyzia has set his sights on a round one return after undergoing successful surgery on his troublesome shoulder over the break.

Porplyzia’s shoulder became a nuisance in the latter half of season 2008, continually popping in and out of the socket during games and even at training.

The 23-year-old battled through the pain to play a significant role in getting the Crows to the finals, but was forced to pull out before the elimination final against Collingwood.

Now, Porplyzia’s back on track and confident he’ll suffer no long-lasting effects of the injury, which he revealed first troubled him before last season had even started.

“The shoulder injury was something that I carried into the season this year. We were sort of debating whether or not to have the operation before the start of next year, but decided not to and I tried to get through the season and, unfortunately, I just fell short of doing that,” Porplyzia told Radio 5AA.

“It (the injury) wasn’t too much of a concern in the first half of the year, but towards the second half of the year was when I started to have a bit of trouble with it and having more incidences of it popping out.

“It did start to get a bit tough mentally going into games knowing that it could come out. It did get to be a bit of a burden towards the end of the year, which I think is why we had to make the decision to pull out [before the final].”

2008 was a breakout season for Porplyzia, who booted 32 goals in 18 games, including a match-winning bag of five against the Swans in round 17.

But he won’t be lining up for goal anytime soon.

The full reconstruction, which also involved the removal of bone fragments and the pinning of damaged ligaments, is expected to keep him sidelined for six months.

“At the moment, I’m just running. I’ve been running for about three weeks and I’ve just started some bike work - Charlie Walsh has got me on the bike, so that’s been fun,” Porplyzia said.

“I’m also doing some light strengthening work to get some range of movement back into the shoulder.

“[The medical staff] have pretty much told me to stay away from the footies. I think I can do some light work the week we break up before Christmas, just handballing-type stuff. I won’t be back with the main group training until well into the New Year.

“We’re still aiming for the start of the season. Six months puts me at March 13th, so I think that gives me a couple of weeks before the season proper starts. Hopefully we can try and get a couple of practice games in and see how we go.

“The surgeon is pretty confident with how it all went. I’ve had a few check-ups with him and he’s been very happy with how it’s going.”