Newly re-signed Essendon captain Dyson Heppell is eyeing a return to full training as he begins to increase his running loads heading into the new year.

The 27-year-old battled an ongoing foot injury late in the 2019 season before successfully undergoing surgery early in the off-season.

“My foot is tracking well," Heppell told SEN 1116.

"I will hopefully build up my running loads over this Christmas period and look to integrate back into full training between late January and early February."

Heppell said the majority of the Bombers’ rehabilitation group was tracking well, as its looks to reintegrate into the main squad alongside him.

“Every club has their injuries as you go along. We do have a few in the rehab group but we are starting to phase a few of them into the main training squad,” he said.

“The majority of the group will be back into the swing of things early in the new year.

“In some ways it has been a blessing; we have had the majority of the younger players really driving the training sessions, so their development has been huge over the last five weeks.”

Heppell, who this week signed a contract extension to remain a Bomber until at least the end of 2022, is in the midst of his 10 pre-season, acknowledging the importance of building fundamentals and chemistry during the four-month period.

While the idea of a shorter pre-season has been floated in the media, Heppell said he supported the current length.

“Personally, I feel you can build up to match fitness fairly quickly once you have a fair few pre-seasons under your belt, but I certainly think it is important for the group to come back before Christmas and spend time getting in a solid conditioning block,” he said.

“When you have new game plans and begin tinkering with your game style, it is a crucial time of the year to embed that.”

The Bombers will return from the Christmas break on Friday, January 10.