Six stages of 17 injections of calves blood extract have given Richmond midfielder Mark Coughlan new hope of an imminent return to the AFL.

Coughlan on Tuesday trained for the first time after returning from Germany, where he underwent treatment on his persistent hamstring injury with soft-tissue specialist Dr Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfarth.

Although jet-lagged after a flight back from Munich, Coughlan was pleased with how he felt after training, and hopeful he could soon play for the first time since midway through the 2006 season.

"The body generally feels good, I haven't really had the chance to give it a good run yet, but at this stage it's been a success," he said of his treatment.

"I won't know until I get a full week of training in and play again and get a bit of confidence back in the body, but at this stage I do feel quite good."

Muller-Wohlfarth is regarded as a world leader in treating soft-tissue injuries, although his methods are left-field and involve injections of Traumeel, an analgesic and anti-inflammatory, and Actovegin, an extract from calves blood.

But the athletes he has helped return from injury include Ronaldo, Michael Owen, Paula Radcliffe, Kelly Holmes and Maurice Greene, as well as members of the German soccer team and from his Bundesliga club Bayern Munich.

Last year the doctor helped Geelong's Max Rooke overcome a hamstring problem to play in the Cats' premiership triumph.

Coughlan, who underwent 10 injections into his spine and seven into his hamstring every 48 hours for almost a fortnight, said the doctor's success rate and opinion his injury could be overcome had given him hope that he could play again soon.

"Just reading into this bloke and seeing how much success he's had with athletes and seeing some athletes come through the door that have ... had a lot of success sort of gives you a bit of self-belief," he said.

Coughlan, 26, won Richmond's 2003 best and fairest award, but has played only 41 games of a possible 98 since.

He missed all of last season through a serious knee injury, but has been sidelined by hamstring problems since.

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