GEELONG will continue to support Tyson Stengle as the small forward takes time away from the club to deal with a personal issue.

Veteran midfielder Tom Atkins, meanwhile, has praised the impact of recruit James Worpel in his early days at the Cats, while also dismissing suggestions that a recent spate of injuries across the competition is because the off-season break is too long.

The Cats announced on Monday that Stengle has not returned to the club from the Christmas break, but he is expected to return to training "in the short term".

Atkins said the 27-year-old has the full support of his teammates.

"We love Tyson, and we're just hopeful that everything's okay with him and with his family," he said.

"So hopefully he's able to get the time that he needs, and then when he comes back, he'll be ready to go."

Atkins enjoyed a breakout season in 2025, breaking the all-time record for the most tackles in a season and enjoying a career high for average disposals. And the 30-year-old is set to get even more support in the midfield this year after the arrival of Worpel from Hawthorn, plus the return of Tanner Bruhn.

Bruhn was stood down by the AFL last year after police charged him in a sexual assault case, but the stand-down order was lifted last November when the charges were withdrawn.

Worpel, meanwhile, joined the Cats as a free agent from the Hawks and Atkins says he has made an immediate impact.

"I've enjoyed working with 'Worps', just having his experience in there has been great," Atkins said.

"Obviously he's a really strong, physical player who's got really good endurance as well.

"That's probably one thing I've been surprised with him; he's probably seen more as an inside player, but he's really running well, transitioning well as well.

"We're always evolving as a team, so if we add someone like Worps ... it might change my role, but it's only going to make us better.

"I'm not going into this season expecting to do exactly what I did last year. (I) always love having new talent added to the team, especially if they are going to help us win."

The Cats, like all clubs, returned to training last week after the Christmas break having also enjoyed some time off following the end of last season.

Port Adelaide champion Kane Cornes has long argued players have too much time away from the club during the pre-season and are at risk of getting injured when they return to training, a suggestion that was supported this week when high-profile players like Clayton Oliver, Darcy Moore and Jeremy Howe suffered soft-tissue injuries.

But Atkins dismissed the argument, saying players are still doing fitness work during their time off.

"I'd probably disagree with that. I really enjoy having a break – I think I need it," he said. "It's a pretty intense season and I'm just a fairly intense person.

"It's not like I'm just sitting at home on the couch when I have a break. We're all training, sometimes five times a week. I don't know if it seems like in our off-season everyone thinks that we just go and do nothing, but we're all still very active.

"At some stages we train four times a week running, and then we'll have three weight sessions a week.

"So as far as I'm concerned, I'm always physically prepared to get back into training by the time we come back and I would say that's pretty consistent across the rest of our group as well."