A hamstring injury won’t dampen the spirits of Mason Wood, as he aims to make a return in the early rounds of the season.

“The first outlook was six to eight weeks, and we’re looking more towards that six weeks mark,” Wood told NMFC.com.au.

“But (also) still having that buffer of a couple of weeks to make sure we get it right.”

Wood described the situation in which he got injured as a ‘non-incident’, before the realisation it was much more.

“At training, I looked to come off and take a mark. I took two or three steps and it was almost like a cramping sensation,” he said.

“I put my hand up as if it was a really bad cramp … came off the ground. Then they (the medical staff) looked at it and said ‘it looks like you’ve done a bit of damage’.

“I got the scans and it obviously wasn’t the result we were hoping for.”

The 23-year-old has moved onto his recovery now, with the sole focus on being ‘as ready to go as possible’ when he is cleared for a return.

It will all start with slow steps before gradually increasing his workload.

“At this point of time, a lot of time relaxing, icing, making sure the muscle has time to lay down some scar tissue, which is important to make sure that it’s strong.

“From there, a bit of loading through the tendon and then we start to run and do more stuff at the two-week mark.

“Three to four week, (it will be) more high intensity running and then we sort of look towards more agility and that sort of stuff.”

Importantly for Wood, it’s about working with the medical staff to make sure his recovery is thorough.

“It’s just a gradual build towards playing games and making sure we’re ticking every box at this stage,” Wood explained.

“You can feel really good with a hammy and say I’m right to go, but it’s making sure you’ve got that load into it.”

For more NMFC injury news, visit the Anytime Fitness Health Hub