The 31-year-old's pre-season was disrupted in January when he locked his knee at training and required surgery to remove a piece of cartilage.
Just over a month later, he is ready to play his first NAB Cup game and says his summer program is right back on track.
"I only really missed a full week doing nothing," he said.
"After seven to 10 days after the operation, I was on the bike and doing weights, trying to strengthen it straight away.
"I got a good month in before it happened so my fitness is fine."
Eagleton said he was always going to miss the first NAB Cup match as part of his management plan, similar to that of Jason Akermanis and Barry Hall.
He believes he will now feature in all of the Bulldogs' remaining pre-season matches.
The former Port Adelaide midfielder, who is entering his 16th season, found himself in footballing limbo after last season when the Dogs initially struggled to fit him in the salary cap.
He had to wait until November 13, two days after the club re-signed Akermanis, to find out they were able to make room.
"The club was very supportive during that time and they told me they wanted me around; we just had to work out a few things to make sure it could happen," he said.
"That's footy these days and at my age, I'm happy to take the year by year scenario."
It was Eagleton's teammates that helped get the deal done with a number taking voluntary pay cuts to enable the midfielder to slip under the cap.
"It's always good to know your teammates want to back you up," he said.
"I've been around the place for a long time and I've come through with quite a few guys who have been around for 10 or so years now.
"We've gone through some tough times and have been playing some good footy over the last few years, so things are going pretty well at the moment."
Eagleton says he's not keen on calling 2010 his last season and simply wants to see how this year evolves before making a definitive statement.
"I'm not putting anything on it. I'll just see how it all pans out and take it week by week, match by match as they say, and just keep assessing every month or so," he said.
"I know I can still play at the level. My output last year was good enough to stay on the list.
"It's about how the body holds up and how it progresses so there's no timeline on things."
