Varcoe had shoulder surgery during the off-season after suffering the injury while in Ireland with the International Rules team.
It was initially feared the 22-year-old would miss the early rounds of Geelong's home and away campaign, but he has delighted the club's fitness staff by recovering more quickly than expected.
"We haven't pushed it to be that way," Cats football manager Neil Balme told a media conference at Skilled Stadium on Tuesday.
"He's done a lot of running, and now his shoulder's in a pretty good position. He's done a fair bit of contact work, so we're pleased with him."
The Cats are quietly confident Varcoe will prove that he's fit enough to run out in the club's season opener against St Kilda on March 25.
"He hasn't played [so far in the pre-season], so we'll see how he goes," Balme said.
"Hopefully that will be enough for him to progress to round one, but there's no guarantee of that."
A number of other big names will return to the Geelong team for Saturday's meeting with the Blues.
Star midfielder Jimmy Bartel has recovered from tonsillitis, while Joel Corey and key forward Cameron Mooney are also likely starters.
However, Paul Chapman continues to struggle with a groin complaint.
"He's had a relatively good pre-season, he just hasn't been quite right to play," Balme said of Chapman.
"He's not out of the question for round one. I think he's a fair chance of playing.
"We can condition them pretty well without them playing [in practice matches]."
