Conlan joined the VFL club over summer, but retained Albury as his home club.

The key defender says he will miss between four to six weeks, which virtually guarantees his return in the Ovens and Murray Football League as he then looks to work back to full fitness for the higher state league level.

"They said because it's in the tendon it will take longer to heal," he revealed.

"Hopefully with a (VFL) bye in one of the first couple of rounds, I won't miss too much footy."

The general rule with hamstrings is a three-week injury, but a tendon problem automatically adds time.

Conlan suffered the injury on Friday, March 8.

He has enjoyed the pre-season at the Borough, but just like Wodonga's Collingwood VFL recruit Josh Mathey, he admits the intensity was an eye-opener.

"At the start, there would have been 70 blokes trialling for the team, so it's such a high intensity all through the summer," he offered.

He's played 49 games during his three years at Albury and will reach his first milestone match for the club, most likely in late April or early May.

"I'd say I'd have to come back through Albury, that's more than likely," he said.

Conlan played the two practice games, against Williamstown and Frankston.

Interestingly, his older brother Jacob, who also joined the Borough last December, played for Albury in its practice match against Echuca last Saturday.

Port Melbourne starts its season away to Southport on Saturday, while Albury plays its first game the following week away to Corowa-Rutherglen.