GEELONG midfielder Allen Christensen is aiming to return to the main training group within the next fortnight, but he is unlikely to play again until late June or early July.
Christensen's pre-season was interrupted by hip and back problems. After having two bouts of surgery – the most recent in February – he only started running again three weeks ago.
"I'm starting to do some pretty heavy pre-season-type training," he told Geelong's website.
"I'm probably only a week or two away from training with the other guys, and about six to seven weeks away from playing.
"Hopefully things stay positive and I'm back out there pretty quickly."
It has been a frustrating start to the year for Christensen, who was coming off the best season of his career.
He played 21 games in 2013, including all three of Geelong's finals, and averaged 21 disposals per match.
But his problems began not long after the Cats bowed out of the premiership race at the hands of Hawthorn.
"I had hip surgery in October," the 22-year-old explained. "Then, when I started running again, my back started to flare up.
"I had numbness and pins and needles down my left leg, so we went down the surgery road."
In the past couple of months, Christensen has spent a lot of time doing his rehabilitation work alongside Nathan Vardy and Daniel Menzel, who are on the road back from knee reconstructions.
"Mentally, it can get a bit hard," Christensen said. "We're pretty lucky at this club, though. We've got a great support system, so it hasn't been too bad.
"Having (Vardy and Menzel) around has been really good. When you're injured, you're by yourself a lot, so it's been good to have them around.
"It also makes you push yourself harder."
