Nina Morrison is optimistic a return to the footy field is “just around the corner”.

The Cats’ midfielder was forced to miss the 2021 AFL Women’s season as she worked through the final stages of her rehab from a second ACL injury, which she suffered in the final round of 2020.

But just over 12 months on from a knee reconstruction, Morrison is hopeful she is not far away from taking the field for the Cats’ VFLW side.

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“I’m hopefully getting pretty close to coming back to play,” she told Cats Media.

“Hopefully over the next couple of weeks, if I can get myself back and through a few more training sessions, then I’ll be right to go.

“It seems like it’s only just around the corner, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Although she didn’t take the field in the AFLW season, Morrison has nevertheless made a valuable contribution.

Elected to the leadership group for the first time, the 20-year-old was able to influence the team in a different way.

“It’s hard when you’re not on the field and can’t contribute in that way, but I think my leadership style is a lot about trying to set an example and model how we should go about it, whether that be on game day or just on the training track,” she said.

It is the second time Morrison has worked her way back from a knee reconstruction, after first rupturing her ACL in a training session in 2019.

“It allowed me to do it a bit differently,” Morrison said.

“I felt like that made it feel like a slightly different process, while still having the comfort of knowing what was next and what I needed to tick off.”