‘Would rather break my leg’: Pies forward Jamie Elliott reveals the extent of horror foot injury

Jamie Elliott missed a significant chunk of the season with a foot injury which confounded doctors. He tells JAY CLARK about how serious it was and what happened.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JULY 20: Jamie Elliott of the Magpies looks on during the round 19 AFL match between Hawthorn Hawks and Collingwood Magpies at Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 20, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

Jamie Elliott first knew something was wrong on Anzac Day.

His left foot, and particularly his toes, were feeling strange.

They were tingly. Like pins and needles.

The following week against Carlton, it got scary.

“My whole foot went numb, and pale,” Elliott said.

“I had lost blood supply to it. It took about one week to find out what was wrong, but I basically had blood clots in my foot

“It would go tingly, like when you sleep on your arm, when I was exercising. But it progressively got worse to the point (that it would go numb) when I was just standing.

“So the chats I had with the specialists were a bit scary.”

The premiership sharpshooter required surgery and blood thinning medication, but information was scarce.

In fact, the blood clot issue was so rare that medicos could only find one other sports person in Australia, and a couple of soccer players from overseas, who had suffered the same issue.

The 31-year-old had to go deep into the unknown from an AFL perspective to try and fix it.

The potential dangers were extreme, and while the surgeons were optimistic a procedure to dissolve the blood clots would be successful, there were no guarantees.

Jamie Elliott on his haunches following the draw on Anzac Day. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

“There just weren’t many other people in the world who had experienced the same thing,” he said.

“But even they (other cases) were different because it was from (injury) trauma, whereas mine just came out of the blue.

“But I had a couple of angiograms where they inject a fluid to basically break up the clots.

“But because the clots were so far down (in his left foot) and the vessels were so thin, and I’m still young and fit, it could have reacted badly and cut off circulation.

“Thankfully, that didn’t happen and it worked.

“It broke down the clots and I started to get blood flow through to my toes, and now it is almost back to normal.

“I am a very optimistic guy through my injuries, and I have had a lot, but this one shook me the most. I still have some side effects now, but it is nothing like what it was.

“I would rather break my leg, so I know exactly what the rehab was.

“It was a rough period.”

Jamie Elliott on the training track in may. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images.

It was the uncertainty that stressed him the most as he went through with the surgery, recovered, and then began the process of regaining his fitness and touch.

Elliott missed nine matches in all, but was back ruling the skies on Sunday taking two screamers to help get Collingwood back on track somewhat with a comfortable 26-point win over Richmond at the MCG.

Elliott said it was just nice to be back out there helping the Magpies rack up a much-needed win even though he still doesn’t believe he has regained full power in his left foot and leg.

“I feel like I still don’t have full pop when I jump off my left leg,” he said.

“My left foot is my jumping leg.

“I feel like it (strength) is coming back, but I need to jump on someone smaller, not the big guys.

“I feel like I will continue to get better.”

Jamie Elliott says he feels like he hasn’t completely regained the spring in his step which allows him to fly for high marks. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

With Elliott, Dan McStay and Mason Cox back, Collingwood has regained some much-needed aerial power in attack just in time to help reignite the premiership defence.

But the Magpies will have to win three, and potentially four of its last four games on the run home to book a finals spot in their back-to-back flag tilt.

And Saturday will be one of the biggest milestones in the club’s history as champion midfielder Scott Pendlebury prepares to play his 400th match against Carlton at the MCG.

Elliott said he felt Collingwood regained its “brand” with more defensive pressure on the ball and more territory from the clearances in the win over the last-placed Tigers on Sunday.

But he said Saturday’s milestone match would be a special affair, celebrating the career of only the sixth man in AFL/VFL history to play 400 games.

Elliott said he felt privileged to be on the receiving end of so many perfect Pendlebury passes across his 190 games spanning 12 seasons.

“There are some guys you want to lead to, and some guys you don’t want to lead to, and I would say Pendles and Steele (Sidebottom) are the No. 1 (kickers) in this team,” Elliott said.

“When they kick it to you, it is just an easy ball to mark.

“He (Pendlebury) is a phenomenal kick and he will probably tell you himself. Get a couple of beers in him and he will let you know (laughing).

“Hopefully he can lace me out a few times next week and we can get it done (against Carlton).

“It is no secret that he puts a lot of time and effort into his body and his diet and I’m looking forward to running out with him because it is a privilege to be able to play with him and see how he goes about it behind closed doors.

“The way he prepares and looks after his body is the best I have ever seen at the club.

“Fly does a great job of celebrating individual achievements.

“Four hundred (games) for Pendles is going to be extra special and it is going to be a massive build-up.”

Most importantly, the Pies want to keep winning their way back into September, and Elliott said the win over Richmond was “a great step forward”, ending a run of four-straight losses.

“We talk about our DNA a lot and we want to take territory. I don’t think we’ve done that especially well over the last month,” he said.

“What we have discussed is once we get it in there we score pretty well.

“So we took a lot more territory today. I think at the half we were 1100m from stoppage in the positive.

“So we gave our forwards a chance and we were taking them.”

Originally published as ‘Would rather break my leg’: Pies forward Jamie Elliott reveals the extent of horror foot injury