CARLTON rookie Ryan Jackson is over the moon at the prospect of returning to the football field.

Two and a half weeks after breaking his hand against Brisbane in round five, in just his second game for the club, the 20-year-old midfielder is confident he’ll be returning to competitive action in the next few weeks.

"The surgeon has told me the operation went well and my hand is healing well," Jackson said.

However, not everything has gone Jackson’s way since five screws and a metal plate were inserted into his broken hand: “I was hoping for a good nurse to be there to cheer me up when I came out from the operation. Unfortunately, it was the surgeon and Mum.

Jackson’s family fishing trips to Bermagui show how committed to the task the young Blue can be.

On one trip, trying to bring on board a bluefin marlin, Jackson faced every man’s worst nightmare.

"As it was being lifted into the boat the tail actually flipped around and hit me in my rude part down below. I was on the ground crying a bit, but I still held onto the rope," he explained.

Reeling in pain, and lying next to what turned out to be a record-breaking catch, Jackson’s hands instinctively rushed to establish there had been no major incident downstairs.

"I checked to see if it was still there and it was," he said.

"So, for all the ladies out there, everything is fine."

Since his unlucky break, Jackson has focused on lower leg work and upper-body strengthening and has continued to learn from club mentors such as Nick Stevens, the player whose injury, ironically, provided him with his first senior game since his debut against the Swans in round 22 last year.

"Nick has been a real help to me on the ins and outs of playing in the midfield. My role in pre-season and this year has been to watch and learn off the blokes who know the game," he said.

With his hand only a few weeks away from being fully healed Jackson is once again faced with the challenge of breaking into the senior team.

"I want to get things right and play a few games in the two’s," he said. "If I play good enough footy, and they are looking to make a change, I will be more than happy to put my hand up and step back in there."