West Coast Eagles midfielder Scott Selwood says he’s optimistic about his 2015 season, but admits he’s been challenged mentally by his long stint on the sidelines.

Selwood missed the bulk of 2014 after hurting his ankle early in the season, and has been restricted to light duties so far this summer as he slowly progresses toward hitting the training track.

Despite having a limited pre-season Selwood remains positive ahead of the 2015 season.

“It’s just been tough to try and get out on the park,” he said.

“I ended up having a bit of a ‘scrape’ just to clean some things up; from there it’s feeling really good.

“It’s still a slow progression for me from here, but I’ll still aim to play some NAB Challenge matches.

“But I’ve really got to take it week by week at the moment, so it’s a little bit frustrating.”

He may be missing out due to a physical complaint, but Selwood says it’s keeping his mind positive that is one of the hardest aspects of a long-term injury.

“The mental side of things has probably challenged me a little bit,” he added.

“Just in terms of being out for so long and not being able to impact the group the way I like to do.

“That’s been a challenge for me, but I’m really optimistic about how it’s going.”

Again appointed as a vice-captain in 2015, the 2012 club champion says the injury layoff has forced him to develop other sides of his leadership as he guides the young Eagles list at another year of competition.

“I usually like to lead by example a little bit at training and in games, so I probably had to approach it different angle since being injured,” he said.

“It’s been a good challenge from that point of view, I think we’ve got some great young talent coming through, hopefully I can have a bit of an influence on them and how their 2015 goes as well.”