Magpie Young forced to wait

New Collingwood recruit Clinton Young says he's hopeful of joining full training in January as he continues to overcome a foot injury.

Young, who was part of the Hawthorn side that suffered an agonising grand final loss at the hands of Sydney, underwent foot surgery at the end of the season, and has been part of Collingwood's rehab group on their pre-season training camp in Utah.

Young has been building up his stamina on an AlterG treadmill that allows runners to jog with less gravitational pull than a standard machine, thereby lessening wear and tear.

The 26-year-old midfielder said he has made good progress on the treadmill and is champing at the bit to start full training in the New Year.

"In some ways it's been frustrating to be part of the rehab, I'd have loved to have come here and taken part in full training," Young told the Collingwood website.

"In some ways, it's good to sit back and watch the way the guys go about it. It's really professional. I can't wait to be a part of it in January.

"With AlterG, it's been good from me - I've been using it progressively for these three weeks. I had surgery on my foot nine weeks ago so it's been good for me to progress my running and I'm about to start running without using the machine.

"I'm slowly building up to the point where yesterday I went running for the first time."

Young said he had been made to feel at home at his new club, but said it would be strange coming up against his old Hawthorn team-mates for the first time.

"Eight years at Hawthorn, obviously it's going to take a little bit to get used to but I really feel part of the group now already.