Injured Australian netball vice-captain Sharelle McMahon hopes to advance from shuffling to running by the end of the year with the aim of playing in the one-off Test against England in Melbourne in late February.

Top shooter McMahon underwent an ankle reconstruction just over nine weeks ago.

That injury, combined with a stress fracture in her foot, forced her out of last month's three-Test home series against world champion New Zealand.

McMahon said while she had been shuffling rather than running for just over a week she was still hopeful of lining up against England on February 25.

"I'm aiming to play in that match, but we will just have to wait and see. By mid January, I'll be hoping to be into court work training and things like that."

While she recently underwent her third bout of ankle surgery since the 2002 Commonwealth Games, McMahon was upbeat about her prospects of avoiding further trouble in that area.

"This is my third lot of surgery since then, but it is the first time I have had reconstruction surgery done, in the past it's just been cleaned out," McMahon said.

"This time hopefully because it's more stable it will be less likely to create the injuries that I have had and that's why this time I'm feeling a lot more positive coming out of surgery."

She has been cycling, swimming and lifting weights in order to keep her fitness up.

McMahon's said her Melbourne Phoenix team mates, fellow shooter Eloise Southby-Halbish and centre line player Susan Meaney, both of whom also missed the New Zealand series, were also hoping to be fit to face England.

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