COLLINGWOOD ruckman Darren Jolly says the knee that kept him out of seven games earlier this year is under control and isn't expected to require further surgery at the season's end.

The 29-year-old's knee initially became sore after the NAB Cup Grand Final in March and he underwent a minor operation following the Magpies' Anzac Day win over Essendon when the knee swelled up.

He had "floating cartilage" removed and his medial bone smoothed, and, after a June trip to Arizona for a 12-day altitude training block, returned to the seniors in round 15 against Hawthorn.

On the eve of his 200th game this Sunday against Essendon, Jolly says the joint has responded well over the past two months and is unlikely to need more invasive treatment when the season's over.

"It's fine, it feels really good. The swelling has completely gone and I just needed to get the strength back in it so I'm getting back to normal now," he told afl.com.au this week.

"At this stage, I won't need anything done. I'll just have to wait and see but I hope not.

"I don't have to do anything to it now, just continue with weights and focus on getting the strength back in it."

After the knee became inflamed following the Pies' NAB Cup triumph, Jolly persisted and even had fluid drained from it in a bid to stay on the field.

When he came off the MCG in round five, he knew more had to be done.

"It just got worse, and the Anzac Day game, it was really bad after that," he said.

"We thought while we were in a good position, and it was still early enough, we might as well get it done now."

He was sent to Arizona with Nathan Brown, Dane Swan and Brent Macaffer in early June in an attempt to fast-track his fitness and recoup the time lost when he was injured.

It was his third trip to the US with the Pies since his late 2009 arrival at the club, and he believes he has benefited from the excursion each time he's embarked on it.

"I've certainly felt that towards the second half of the season you start get a bit tired and you've played a lot of footy but I've felt that I could run games out and I've felt really good during games," he said.

"I can feel it now. It's probably hard right now because I've been sick and I can't really feel anything at the moment but leading into last week, I've certainly felt good during games and the work we did over there will continue to come for the next couple of months."

Jolly is poised to return to the team for Sunday's game after missing the win over the Gold Coast with illness, although he conceded he still had to get through a training session later in the week in order to confirm his selection.

He said the opportunity to play 200 games after he started his career as a rookie at Melbourne in 2001 was something he was "quite proud of".

"You look back right at the start and I was happy just to play a game, let alone play as long as I have," he said.

"I suppose 200 is a blessing. Not many players get to that mark and I'm proud of myself to get this far, and hopefully there's a few more."

Jolly played 48 games for Melbourne between 2001 and 2004 before requesting a trade, as he felt he was "behind" Jeff White and Troy Simmonds. He went to the Sydney Swans and played 118 games there between 2005 and 2009, including the 2005 premiership