Reigning best and fairest winner Dyson Heppell is confident he will be available for a Round 1 selection following knee surgery last week.

Heppell experienced discomfort in his left knee during a training session last week, with scans revealing the need to remove a flap of surface cartilage.

“I’m well and truly hopeful of being on the cards for Round 1,” Heppell said.

“I should have a good base under my belt by then so hopefully it all settles well, but I should be right to go.

“The surgery all went well; there was only a bit of loose cartilage in there so it was a pretty simple procedure. But I’m walking around freely and have a bit more movement in it now so all is going well.”

The 22-year-old revealed he was aiming to return to full training with the wider playing group by late next week.

“I’m now a week in after surgery and I’m doing some strength exercises for the quad so I don’t lose too much muscle mass around that area,” Heppell said.

“But I’ll start ramping up the cross training this week and hopefully get in to some running early next week so we’ll progress from there. If all goes well, I’ll ramp up my running next week and hopefully by Friday or early the following week I’ll be back in with the full group.

The fan favourite, and Gippsland local, was spotted in Morwell on Saturday supporting his younger brother Aaron who played against St Kilda in the NAB Challenge clash.

“It was great to get back to Gippy – I’ve played plenty of games down in Morwell with the Gippsland Power throughout the years so it’s always good to get back down there.”

“I was rapt to see ‘Azza’ get a game – he looked alright in the Kermit vest and then came on and looked alright in the last quarter. He did quite well, he got a few touches and looked fine out there. He got a good roar from the crowd so I think he really enjoyed the day as well.

“If there’s anything he needs to ask, he’ll ask but he’s a pretty cruisey knacker and goes about his business so I’ll be there if needs it.”