A TOUGH training session on Saturday will form part of Geelong captain Joel Selwood's recovery as he bids to return from left ankle surgery for the Cats' qualifying final against Richmond on Friday week.

Selwood, 29, suffered an ankle syndesmosis injury against Sydney in round 20 and is aiming to make a miraculous comeback for the MCG blockbuster.

The hard nut said he had been running "for a little bit" and felt "comfortable".

"The boys will have match sim on the weekend. I don't think I'll be part of that but I'll be off to the side doing a fair bit of work that's pretty similar to it," Selwood said.

Players bidding to rush their returns for finals have sometimes resorted to desperate measures, but Selwood said that's not the case for him.

"There's no calves blood or anything, like Max Rooke did (in 2007). It's all been pretty natural," he said.

Last year, Western Bulldogs onballer Tom Liberatore provided the blueprint for Selwood when he returned from the same surgery with just an extra week's recovery.

Selwood didn't have concerns about longer-term ramifications if he returned sooner than expected.

"I'm pretty confident that the surgery that I've had done will have no ill-effect on what's to come in the future," Selwood said.

The start of the recovery provided a challenge but it has been on track since.

"I felt like I was in the Big Brother house for a little while, just making sure that infection stayed away. Stayed at home, got back to the footy club the second week and from there onwards, it's sort of just been a daily grind of just making sure that I'm feeling good," Selwood said.