Nic Naitanui dismisses rumours about a setback in his recovery from major knee injury

WEST Coast ruckman Nic Naitanui insists he’s on track to play during the AFL pre-season despite undergoing a minor procedure on his reconstructed left knee.

Nic Naitanui at West Coast Eagles training.

WEST Coast ruckman Nic Naitanui insists he’s on track to play during the AFL pre-season despite undergoing a minor procedure on his reconstructed left knee.

Naitanui had an arthroscope in October to trim cartilage that had been causing him some discomfort at training.

Rumours started to circulate that the 27-year-old had suffered a more serious setback in his bid to return from a knee reconstruction.

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But Naitanui brushed off the speculation, saying he would resume full training on Monday.

“I could train fully right at the moment,” Naitanui told reporters on Wednesday. “I’m just taking it pretty easy at the moment. I had a pretty solid build-up into the off-season so my downtime is now. I trained throughout the break as well.

“For me, this is my lower sessions and I’ll build up again as of next week and work through the Christmas period.

“I’ll do everything. There’s nothing I won’t do. That means getting back into time trials and doing everything. It was never injuries or soreness. It was just a fact of loading.”

Nic Naitanui has dismissed talk of an injury setback.

West Coast takes on Port Adelaide on February 25 in Perth, before facing Fremantle on March 11 in its two JLT Series matches.

Naitanui, who shapes as one of the bargains of the year in SuperCoach, is champing at the bit to play in at least one of those. And he said the talk of his setback was wide of the mark.

“That’s just Perth. Rumours spread. I think I’m going to be hearing that the rest of my career, that I’ve had a setback,” Naitanui said.

“I feel really good. I’m back running, training and kicking goals, doing what I do. As of Monday, once I’m in full training, that’ll probably put some of that stuff to rest.

“That clean-up I had in the off-season was just something I saw an opportunity to do. I didn’t have to get it done but I thought I might as well while I had the opportunity.

“I was back running the week after. It was one of those things that, if it was during the season, you would miss a week of footy and then be back the next week.”

Originally published as Nic Naitanui dismisses rumours about a setback in his recovery from major knee injury