AFTER a season spent largely in pain and two subsequent rounds of surgery, it is no surprise Collingwood defender Simon Prestigiacomo is not rushing back into playing.

The veteran defender, 30, has endured almost a year of foot-related agony, owing to an injured plantar fascia – the complaint that recently sidelined Geelong ruckman Brad Ottens for the first nine rounds of the season.

But finally, Prestigiacomo believes the end of his lengthy rehabilitation is closer than just a speck on the horizon as the defender has rejoined training and is looking at a mid-season return to the VFL.

"I'm getting there. I started out on the track two weeks ago and did a bit of the warm up and a few drills, and a bit more footy-specific stuff, so it's starting to head the right way now," he told collingwoodfc.com.au.

"I've been running for a couple of weeks, on my own straight line sort of stuff, and now I'm getting into more footy-related running.

"They said it was going to be mid-year, before I played, and I think they've just been a little bit cautious with me because of all the problems I had with it last year.

"I'm hoping to play in the VFL around the mid-season break. If I'm training and it's not getting any sorer, then I can step it up but if it stays a bit sore, then I'll stay at that level.

"So, I'm just going session by session to see how it goes at the moment."

Prestigiacomo "popped" his plantar fascia – which is the thick, connective tissue that supports the arch of the foot – in round six last year against Adelaide.

He went on to play another eight senior games for the year despite the injury, but admitted by the end of the season, he "couldn't even get through a game in the reserves" as the problem took its toll.

The defender then underwent surgery, but the foot didn't respond as expected and the club went on to look into alternate therapies, including radio frequency treatment, as a way to avoid another operation.

But, the nerve-related course of action also failed and Prestigiacomo was forced back into the operating theatre at the start of this year.

"I had the operation in October the first time around and was thinking I was going to be a month or two in rehab and be better, and then it dragged on and just wasn't getting better," he said.

"I got up to Christmas and it was getting worse, so that was pretty frustrating. In the end, we just went ahead with the operation, the last thing we wanted to do.

"We had to do it, as in the end, it was just bubbling along and not getting better. The plan is it won't break down again."

Prestigiacomo said he has many motivations to get back into the side, including reaching his 200-game milestone (he is currently stationed on 193), and having the chance of playing in finals after missing the Magpies' 2007 September campaign.

"It was pretty tough last year not being able to get through a game while the boys were playing in the finals," he said.

"It was pretty tough to watch. Myself and Brodie Holland watched the boys do well, and it was good, but when you're not a part of it, it's very tough to just watch.

"But, it's made me determined to come back and hopefully continue on the way they've been playing, and make the finals and have a red-hot go at it.

"That's definitely something I'm excited about trying to get back to be a part of."