The star midfielder has finally shrugged off a combination of knee, achilles and groin complaints and exclusively told westernbulldogs.com.au that after months on the sidelines he couldn’t wait to step out.

“I had my first full training session today for the whole pre-season, so it’s been a while,” Cooney said following the Bulldogs' hit-out at Whitten Oval on Wednesday.

“I was a bit rusty out there … but I think if I pull up well tomorrow and Friday I should be right.”

Cooney knows how his body reacts over the coming weeks will determine his chances of making the Dogs’ side for their round-one trip to Subiaco to tackle Fremantle.

While admitting missing the March 29 clash wouldn’t be “the end of the world”, he realises the importance of the coming weeks. That is, after so long out, he knows his body must stand up if he is to be any chance to make the plane for Perth.

“I suppose if I get through the next couple of weeks and my body’s feeling all right then there’s no reason why I can’t play [against Fremantle],” the 23-year-old said.

“It’s just getting through the next couple of weeks or the next three or four weeks without getting sore.

“If that happens, well, I should be right to go. If I do pull up sore from any of the games – because there’s only a couple of weeks left of (pre-season) games – it’s going to be hard to get that match fitness up before round one.”

“I won’t be playing if I’m not fully fit.”

It has been a long, frustrating off-season for the man awarded football’s highest individual honour in 2008.

Knee surgery in October was one thing, but other niggles along the way have conspired to keep him from joining his teammates on the track.

“I was hoping to get back maybe by the start of December,” Cooney said.

“I didn’t think it was going to be anywhere near this long. With the other setbacks I had it just pushed it back further and further.

“The knee sort of came good, but then I think I had a bit of tendonitis in my achilles which is hard to get rid of and that set my skills [work] back probably a few weeks, which didn’t help.

“And then the groin was a little bit sore … we sort of took a cautious approach to it, given my history with groin problems.

“It was just one thing after the other, so I just couldn’t get my body fully right to get out there and training.”

While the Bulldogs were pounding the pavement and setting new personal bests on the training track, Cooney was restricted to the gym.

He says hours have been spent in the pool, doing boxing or cycling sessions.

“It’s been a pretty long pre-season,” he said.

“Obviously when you’re in rehab it can be a very lonely place.

“But I have been able to do a fair bit of running, just straight-line stuff like four hundreds and eight hundreds. So as the summer went on I was able to get into the running a bit more, it’s just the footy-type work that I’ve missed a lot of.”

Given his time spent watching from the other side of the white line, the explosive onballer said his skills were “absolutely shocking”.

“Hopefully I’ve got a few weeks to get that right,” he said.