Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli is confident he will be right for day one of pre-season despite being restricted to crutches after surprise ankle surgery this week.

Bontempelli had surgery on Monday after he felt sore in the ankle while doing some running sessions after the season while away in Canada and the USA, before it became swollen.

The skipper is backing himself to be ready to go for the start of the Bulldogs’ pre-season training on November 27 and could be moving freely by the end of the week.

“I’ll move to ease everyone’s tensions or concerns, it’s just a little ankle clean-up,” Bontempelli told SEN.

“Got through the season and whatnot pretty good and then had my break, started training and noticed a few little signs, a little bit of swelling and it was staying a little bit angry post-session since coming back from my off-season trip.

“So we just decided it was better to act now rather than pushing into the pre-season and then season, going for a little tidy up.

“Should still be well and truly on track to get things going once we’re back on the 27th of November.

“No big concern here, better to act sooner rather than later and get going. Should be (walking) properly by the end of the week.”

Bontempelli won the AFLPA MVP after one of the best seasons in his career, averaging 28 disposals, seven tackles and eight clearances in 23 games.

The Bulldogs missed the finals this year, but have made wholesale changes to their coaching department, bringing in former West Coast assistant Daniel Pratt as well as Jarryn Geary, Alex Johnson and Matt Egan.