VETERAN Bulldog Scott West is confident he is finally on the right track to overcoming a persistent knee injury that has decimated his season.

West, 33, has been restricted to just four senior games this year and has not played since round six because of bone bruising in his knee.

He suffered a setback once he started running after round 13 and has been resting ever since. However, this time around, West believes he's just weeks away from a VFL return following some positive scan results.

"The scan said it's showing signs of healing, so it's all positive," West told westernbulldogs.com.au on Tuesday.

"In the past it's never shown signs of healing, it's just felt better, but last time I started running and it got sore again.

"I've rested now for a couple of weeks, and the scan has now shown that the bone has got good repair around it and it's heading in the right direction."

West is stepping up his running levels every two days, and will continue to increase his straight line work as well as agility training over the coming weeks.

He is hesitant to put a time frame on his return to football, but says the best-case scenario will see him run out for Williamstown in a fortnight.

"We've been down the path of trying to forecast when I'm going to play, but this time I won't do that," he said.

"There is a goal in mind to play a certain number of games before September, and the best-case is I'll play VFL in two weeks.

"I've got to get some match fitness and play some football, so the VFL will be the progression I take and we'll go from there."

Having not sustained such a lengthy injury before, West is unsure how many games he'll need at reserves level before pushing into the seniors.

But he's confident that once he does return to the field, albeit at a lower level, he'll still have something to offer the club's senior outfit.

"It's funny – when you're injured, you don't seem to have any past form," he said.

"There are a lot of cynics out there, but I certainly do believe that if I do play again I will be playing seniors sooner rather than later."

West admits this season has taken its toll on him emotionally, having suffered the injury so early on and then facing various setbacks.

He says the form of the side and the potential it has shown has prevented him from losing the psychological battle that comes with such a situation.

"It's been a terribly hard year. It's been a roller-coaster of emotions, but the way the team has been performing and the way they've gone about it has really kept me enthused to do the rehab," he said.

"It's obviously not an ideal time to have an injury because I'm not exactly in my first year of footy.

"But you take the good with the bad in footy, and the way I look at it I've had a fairly lucky career in regards to injury.

"I've just got to get over this and do everything possible I can, and hopefully play again."