Charlie Comben says he's almost ready to return to full training sessions after a 'frustrating' road to recovery.

The 22-year-old looked as though he was finally going to get a clean run in the senior side at the beginning of 2023 following a strong pre-season, but was struck down by a high-grade syndesmosis injury and fibula fracture in Round 7 which ultimately ended his campaign.

Comben is now on the verge of participating in full sessions with his teammates for the first time since April, after receiving the green light to get physical on Monday during the first day of the club's pre-season camp on the Gold Coast.

"It’s been a long road back, about six months off," Comben told NMFC Media.

"It was good to join in with the lads … it's pretty warm so I struggled a bit but it felt really good.

"I'll start to ramp it up over the next few sessions. Hopefully by Christmas I'll get close to a full session out. If not, after Christmas I'll be fully training.

"This injury was probably the most frustrating. I thought I was going to be back in about 10 weeks, but ended up having a bit of an issue with a tendon in my ankle that wasn't recovering quite as I would have hoped.

"It's definitely taken a toll ... but it's good to be back out there and training."

A versatile and determined footballer, as demonstrated by his efforts against the Eagles in Round 1 last season, North Melbourne's No.30 has struggled to find consistency with his body since arriving at Arden Street, managing just the nine AFL games over the past four years.

He chalks his absences down to "bad luck" and is thankful he's avoided soft tissues injuries over the early stages of his career at the highest level.

"Hopefully (all the injuries) are behind me," he said.

"I've seen black cats and a few mirrors broken but I think I'm sweet now."

The 199cm key position player looked confident in his role as a forward target alongside Nick Larkey in the Roos' attack to begin 2023, but he'll embark on a fresh challenge in 2024 after revealing what the plans are for him heading into next season.

"I'm going for a move down back this year which will be a different role," he said.

"Obviously we lost a key back during the Trade Period, so I'll look to fill that role and hopefully provide a bit of marking and intercepting down back … it's really exciting."