North Melbourne midfielder Jack Ziebell could miss the start of the NAB Cup after minor knee trouble, but says he'll be back to full fitness well before the club's opening match of the year against Collingwood.

"Obviously when you have a scan and have to go in for a clean-up two days later it's not the best result, especially when you'd rather be out there training with the boys and doing the hard yards with the season coming up," Ziebell told NMFC.com.au.

"But I'm extremely thankful that it's all happened now and not on the eve of the season or anything like that.  I think the way we've handled it has been spot on really."

The vice-captain says he felt slight pain in his knee during training and sought medical advice.

"It was just a bit sore throughout the pre-season but nothing really major, so I had a scan and after a chat with the medical and fitness guys here at the club, it was decided the best thing for me to do was to have a minor clean-up.

"It was just good to be able to get it done while we have plenty of time up our sleeves before the season starts.  Doing it now means I'll be perfectly fine for Round 1 and even some of the NAB Cup."

Up until a few weeks ago, Ziebell had completed every training session including all the entire Utah camp and says that will hold him in good stead when he's able to resume.

"It's a lot easier to get back into it after having done a fair bit of work already.  Obviously I started training back in late October and have gone all the way through until a few weeks back when I had this little procedure.  It won't be like starting afresh, I should be able to get back up to speed with my fitness pretty quick."

Perhaps the biggest disappointment, is the fact he's missed the Kangaroos' competitive training sessions against Geelong.

"Being on the sidelines is not the place I want to be, I think I've had my fair share of injuries," Ziebell said laughing.

"Yeah, that was annoying to realise I'd miss the sessions with the Cats.  To be able to do some contested work against them on a really good deck would be awesome but frustrating for me because I won't be able to do any of it."

Director of Medical Services Steve Saunders confirmed Ziebell would be ready to go well before the home and away season begins.

"He had some minor knee pain and we decided to be proactive and send him in for a tidy-up which would allow him to be set up perfectly for the upcoming season.

"Jack will resume full training soon and we expect him to play, as planned, in the NAB Cup."