Adelaide Crows key defender Daniel Talia on track to be ready for Round 1 despite bizarre bed injury

After re-injuring his knee in the most innocuous of fashions, Adelaide full back Daniel Talia is hopeful he will be fit and firing for Round 1. And he could not speak more highly of the Crows’ pre-season.

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Adelaide full back Daniel Talia has revealed it was a simple roll in bed that set back his preparations for 2019 for almost three months.

But the All-Australian is confident of being ready for one of the Crows’ practice matches after reaching the halfway mark of his rehabilitation from knee surgery.

Talia, 27, hurt himself in unusual circumstances: he was turning in bed to put away his mobile phone when he felt something tear in his knee.

It turned out that he had re-done an old meniscus injury in his left knee and after scans and consultation decided to go in for surgery to repair the tear.

The verdict was a 12-week stint of rehabilitation but Talia decided to pragmatic about it — as much as it had annoyed him at the time.

“It was a really innocuous incident,” Talia told The Advertiser.

“I was actually in bed and rolled over the put the phone on the bedside table and it (the knee) just went on me.

Daniel Talia is confident he willl be ready for Round 1 after reinjurying a knee. Picture: AAP Image/David Mariuz

“So not even walking. It’s been an old injury that I had early in my career.

“I didn’t really know what went on but I knew I wasn’t right.

“Pretty stiff to do it in bed and not really be doing anything but that’s the way it goes sometimes.

“There was just a little tear in there so I decided to go in and get it done.”

Talia is now back running and doing weights and happy with his progress.

He is confident he will back to full training ahead of the club’s two practice matches and take part in at least one of them.

“I’m going really well — well on the road to recovery,” Talia said. “I’m six weeks down now post surgery and have been running all week this week.

“I’ll be building up over the next three to four weeks and then all things going well hoping to get a JLT Cup game in.

“I’m really happy I got it done in the end.

“It was a pretty easy surgery.”

Daniel Talia with a life-size Toyota Camry made out of Lego at the Brickman Awesome Lego Exhibition. Toyota has just extended its sponsorship of the Crows for another four years. Picture Matt Turner

His own injury aside, Talia could not speak more highly of the Crows’ pre-season.

He felt much had been learnt from a disappointing 2018 but the main thing that stood out was that almost everybody was healthy — including co-captains Taylor Walker and Rory Sloane, who were both hampered by injuries last year.

“I think the main thing is that everyone’s healthy,” Talia said. “We’ve had a really good pre-season to date — guys have put in a ton of work.

“Everyone seems fresh and energised and we’re having a really good pre-season, one of the best I’ve seen in my time here.

“It doesn’t always translate into the year but there’s a really positive vibe around the club.

“We definitely learned from last year.

“It was a really disappointing year and that’s what drives you all pre-season; you want to play finals.

“Tex has pretty much done a full pre-season, same as Sloaney, and both of them are looking really good.

“And that’s huge for us, to have the senior guys out there driving the younger guys.”

Talia is expected to join the main group in training later this week.

His progress comes as Toyota — which has been with the club since its start in 1991 — has extended its sponsorship of the Crows for another four years, meaning it will be on board until at least the end of 2023.

The partnership, which is one of the most enduring in Australian sport, will also extend to creating a grassroots football program this year.