Gary Ablett's manager says the dual Brownlow medallist is a certainty to play for Geelong in the opening AFL round.
But his Cats teammate Patrick Dangerfield remains in doubt with the star yet to learn the extent of his hamstring injury after undergoing scans.
The 27-year-old was injured in Sunday's pre-season loss to Essendon but his results aren't expected to be known until Wednesday morning.
"It was only 24 hours ago so it really hasn't changed too much," Dangerfield told reporters on Tuesday.
"To be honest the results of the scan might take a few hours before they get back to our doc, so I guess I'll have to wait."
Ablett appears more likely to be ready for Geelong's March 25 opener against Melbourne.
By then it will be just on a month since the former Gold Coast captain strained a hamstring at training.
Ablett's manager Liam Pickering on Tuesday declared his client was certain to line up against Melbourne on March 25.
"He is very confident," Pickering told SEN.
"He is 100 per cent. My understanding talking to him is he will play round one."
Ablett said he hoped to join in full training by the end of this week.
"I'm just really looking forward to jumping into it," he said on Monday.
Excitement is high at Geelong about Ablett's return to the club and his addition to their midfield alongside Dangerfield and captain Joel Selwood.
But Dangerfield's hamstring issue - the first he has suffered in his career - threatens to put a dampener on things.
"It feels pretty good," Dangerfield said at Geelong's headquarters on Monday.
"I've never done a hammy before, so without having done one, it's hard to say where it's at."
Lachie Henderson (knee) and Scott Selwood (ankle) are still recovering, while Rhys Stanley also hurt a calf in the Essendon loss.
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