But the 20 year-old said he won’t be rushing into anything unless he feels 100% confident in his body.
“In rehab, patience is the key I think,” Bartlett told LIONSTV.
“You can’t rush back - especially if you’re young bloke coming through the system. You just want to impress, but you have to be really sure that you’re listening to everything you’ve been told, and not try and force yourself back in too early.”
“You’ve just got to take it as it comes and let your body heal by itself.”
Bartlett returned from a second consecutive knee reconstruction towards the end of the 2011 season and was able to get some valuable match practice in the NEAFL.
“I got to play the last six games with the Reserves side which definitely gave me some confidence and a little bit more hunger heading into the pre-season,” he said.
“I’m now excited about doing my first pre-season in a couple of years.”
Despite undergoing minor cleanout surgery on his previously injured knee in September, the Lions’ first selection from the 2009 AFL National Draft is certainly on track to be ready for the start of the new season.
“All’s going well. I had a bit of a knee cleanout at the end of last year which limited my running at the start of the pre-season,” Bartlett said.
“So I spent plenty of time on the bike and got plenty of kilometres in my legs before I started running.”
"I’ve done a fair bit of running now over the past couple of weeks, and have noticed some real improvements in my endurance.”
