Sydney Swans defender Alex Johnson back running after 906-day battle with serious injury
WHEN Swans defender Alex Johnson ran on the SCG turf for the first time in 906 days his teammates, coaches and club staff turned up on their day off to cheer him on.
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WHEN Sydney Swans defender Alex Johnson ran on the SCG turf on Wednesday, precisely 906 days after he had last broken into a jog, the smiles on the faces of teammates, coaches and club staff were broader than his own.
The Swans had not merely turned up on their day off to admire the progress of a teammate who has endured 12 operations on his scarred left knee in the four years since he starred in the 2012 grand final victory.
They were there to thank Johnson for the inspiring contribution he has made while enduring what would have been, for most, a tortuous ordeal.
‘’I guess if you are feeling sorry for yourself, you should take a look at Alex Johnson,’’ says coach John Longmire. ‘Every time he walks into the club he’s an energy giver and really gets around the players. That energy rubs off on other people very quickly.’’
Johnson’s terrible run of misfortune began in a pre-season game in 2013 when he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He missed the entire season and was set to return in 2014 when the knee buckled again.
Since then one round of surgery has followed another, to the point Johnson jokes: “If I needed another operation I could probably do it myself.’’
But where others might have succumbed to the physical pain and mental anguish, Johnson has not merely persevered. He has been a source of energy and inspiration in both his optimistic demeanour and the extra roles he has fulfilled.
“It’s amazing the impact he has had on the whole playing list and the whole footy program just the way he (has) gone about his business,’’ says the Swans’ welfare officer Dennis Carroll. “Not once has he outwardly felt sorry for himself.’’
Teammate Xavier Richards says Johnson is known as Megaphone because of his loud and energetic presence. ‘’When someone else is going through a small hamstring tear or something he motivates them,’’ says Richard.
Johnson says his positive nature has helped him endure when others might have quit. “There would have been a few opportunities I could have been down on everyone and down on myself,’’ he says. “But I’m generally a positive person, a glass half full person.’’
Not everyone has been as optimistic. After yet another injury last December, Johnson consulted five surgeons. Three recommended retirement.
Instead Johnson took the advice of renowned surgeon Julian Feller who told the 24-year-old he could get him back on the park. But first he would require a bone graft in February and another reconstruction in May. That meant yet more time working alone in the gym while teammates were on the field.
Johnson’s response has been to become even more involved with helping the reserves team and remaining upbeat to ensure his plight did not have an impact on others.
“If I came here every day and I was down that would take the focus off everything they are trying to achieve,’’ he says.
Johnson has had his dark moments. Sometimes he flew home to Melbourne to be with his parents and older brother and sister, the people to whom he could betray the depth of his frustration without spreading “negative vibes’’.
“The club has been great in giving me time off to get away so I can deal with things away from here where it won’t have an impact on the group,’’ he says.
In a cutthroat business, perhaps the greatest sign of the esteem in which Johnson is held by the Swans is that they have kept him on their list.
“It’s a whole package,’’ says Longmire of retaining a player who hasn’t played for four seasons. “Obviously we rate him highly as a player. It’s also the quality of the person he is.’’
As the Swans attempt to win another premiership, Johnson’s role in their 2012 triumph seems like a distant memory. For some, already achieving what he calls “the ultimate’’ might be a good reason to quit. Instead the idea of climbing that mountain again is what keeps him going.
Johnson says the knee is the strongest it has been for years. Those first steps on the SCG, he hopes, will be the start of a regime that has him back on the field next season, even if he doesn’t want to name a date for fear of jinxing himself.
“There’s no better feeling than a Saturday afternoon after a good win, sitting around the change rooms with the guys after you’ve had a good win,’’ he says.
Originally published as Sydney Swans defender Alex Johnson back running after 906-day battle with serious injury
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