Such is the high esteem that midfielder Steven Motlop is held in at Geelong that the AFL club had no hesitation sending him all the way to London for knee surgery in January.

The bonus for Motlop was that he flew business class – which was only appropriate for a lightning-fast trip that included no time for sight-seeing.

The 23-year-old only spent four days in the English capital, being operated on by a surgeon recommended by club physio Mark Young, who had previously worked with the English cricket team.

“Once the opportunity came up we took it with two hands and thankfully it’s fixed now,” said Motlop, who returns to AFL action on Sunday against Richmond after two hit-outs in the VFL.

“I just had a lot of trust in our fitness staff.”

The procedure involved the removal of a piece of cartilage which was stuck in a tendon in Motlop’s right knee, causing him considerable pain.

“What (the lay-off) has done is give me time to put a bit of weight on,” he said.

“I had shoulder problems when I was younger and it’s given me time to strengthen that and strengthen my quads which I hadn’t been able to do because of my tendon issues.

“Hopefully I’m a bit stronger now.

“I might not be as fit because I missed the pre-season but I do feel stronger.

“I’ve put on five kilograms although I’ve lost two in the last weeks since I’ve been back playing.”

Motlop returns to face a Richmond side struggling in 13th place on the ladder and which hasn’t tasted success against Geelong since 2006.

Geelong’s other absent mercurial utility Allen Christensen is continuing his recovery from a serious back complaint, although he is still listed at 5-7 weeks from a return on the club’s injury list.

“He’s been running on the sidelines at training which is a good sign,” Motlop said on Friday.

“He joined in one of the the kicking drills at training today.

“He’s going really well and he’s been really positive.

“But he’s been taking it really slowly because it has been a problem and it’s something he wanted to get right.”