MITCH Duncan has returned to full training after a setback in his return from surgery near his Achilles, declaring he will be fully fit for Geelong's round one clash against Hawthorn.

The 24-year-old had a minor operation on the plantaris tendon in his lower leg in November and progressed back into training in December.

But upon returning to the club after the Christmas break in January, the midfielder began experiencing soreness and the Cats' medical staff placed him back into the rehabilitation group.

Duncan came through his first full training session last Monday unscathed and will begin ramping up his preparations for the pre-season competition over the next few weeks.

"I'll give myself a full month of solid training until the NAB Challenge and I should be all good for round one," Duncan told AFL.com.au.

Duncan said the flare-up after Christmas was frustrating, particularly after it appeared as if he had turned the corner in regard to his recovery.

The plantaris tendon's function is to work with the Achilles to flex the ankle and knee joint.

"I'd run over the off-season and felt really good, and then as soon as I started changing direction and increasing the speed at training, it just didn't feel right," Duncan said.

"I didn't want it to be a lingering problem throughout the whole pre-season so we were pretty quick to nip it in the bud."

Readying his body for the new season is especially important considering Duncan was restricted to just 11 games last year.

Despite enjoying a scorching five-week patch where he played close to the best football of his career (averaging 25 disposals over that stretch), Duncan broke the fifth metatarsal in his right foot against the Sydney Swans in round seven.

The injury required surgery and forced him to the sidelines until round 16, before a calf injury ended his season prematurely at round 19.

"I'd never been in rehab up until that point, so it was quite humbling to see what other people go through," Duncan said.

Duncan, who has played 111 games in six seasons at Geelong, is not using his delayed preparation as an excuse for putting together a sub-par season.

In fact, he has lofty goals for 2016 and is setting out to elevate himself into the top bracket of AFL midfielders over the coming years.

"I wouldn't say I'm elite yet, " Duncan said. "But I'm definitely striving to get there."

"Team success is the No.1 thing but I definitely think about taking my game to a new level all the time."

Regarded by many coaches as one of the hardest offensive runners in the game, Duncan reads the attacking cues "quicker than anyone in the competition," according to Cats academy coach Nigel Lappin.

Lappin and then development coach Brendan McCartney worked closely with Duncan when the Perth youngster walked through the Simonds Stadium doors after being selected with pick No.28 in the 2009 draft.

What Lappin saw in a young Duncan was a player who was already outstanding at charging forward and being used in Geelong's attacking forays.

But what the Cats' coaching staff taught Duncan was the importance of choosing his moment to attack and when to run back and help in defence.

"He is a joy to coach. You can be really firm with Mitch and that's the way he likes to be coached," Lappin said.

"You don't have to sugarcoat anything with him, in fact he doesn't like it when you do."

Lappin has also seen the progress Duncan has made in regard to winning the ball more frequently on the inside of the contest.

Duncan said he still needed to make some adjustments in regard to that area of his game.

"I've predominantly been an outside player so I want to continue to work on my inside stoppage craft," Duncan said.

"It's about becoming a more rounded player and adding more strings to my bow."