When will Andrew Swallow be back in action? Well, it seems it depends on who you ask. The man himself has identified the early parts of the season for his return, even going as far as to suggest Round 1 could be a possibility. However the coach would like the captain to adopt a more cautious approach.

''We're still really hopeful we're going to have him for the second half of the year, at least, and he's certainly hopeful of being ready a lot earlier than that,” Scott told AFL.com.au.

''But I think for all North fans out there, I wouldn't want to get their hopes up too high, because he's our captain and he's an extremely important player. His long-term health and future is the absolute priority for us.

''We won't be pushing him back before he's ready and now we're fortunate that we have a midfield that is ready to stand on its own two feet in the absence of Andrew.''

Swallow’s drive and determination has resulted in optimistic timelines but the nature of the injury can’t be underestimated. An eight month turn-around from an Achilles rupture would be a phenomenal feat.

''Now that he is actually running and doing a fair bit of kicking, he's got to get the strength in that calf and Achilles,'' Scott said.

“Now it’s a matter of not putting an absolute return date on his return to play AFL footy but it’s ticking the boxes on the way through.”

Recently, North’s Director of Football Geoff Walsh said Swallow could be available before Round 5.

"Originally we said Andrew would be available for Round Eight or Nine, but I think he's a fair way ahead of that," Walsh said.

"I would think we'll see him play somewhere in the first month of the regular season. We would expect him to return to full training probably by the end of February. He's been pretty diligent, as you would expect with his rehab and it seems to be coming together pretty well."