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AFL Daily: Live rolling footy news from around Australia, June 14, 2018
COLLINGWOOD veteran Tyson Goldsack is hopeful of making a miraculous return to football in time for finals, less than seven months after injuring his ACL during a pre-season game against the Bulldogs in Moe.
COLLINGWOOD veteran Tyson Goldsack is hopeful of making a miraculous return to football in time for finals.
The popular defender underwent a knee reconstruction in mid-March but has made quicker-than-expected progress in his rehabilitation. It is some welcome news for the much-improved Pies who lost silky playmaker Daniel Wells to a season-ending foot injury in Monday’s win over Melbourne. BAROMETER: PIES DEALT SAVAGE WELLS INJURY BLOW FOOTY TIPPING: SEE WHO THE EXPERTS ARE PICKING TEAMS: SEE ALL THE INS AND OUTS FOR ROUND 13 Wells, 33, is contracted for next year but will likely discuss his future with Collingwood officials towards the end of the season. Goldsack, 31, had a quad graft to repair his ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and has already resumed running, ahead of schedule. It has left the door slightly ajar on a shock comeback to senior football inside seven months, in what would be one of the AFL’s fastest recoveries from a traditional knee reconstruction. AFL players typically take up to 12 months to recover from a knee reconstruction. Leading knee specialist Julian Feller is one top medico who has advocated for a faster recovery, saying that a return within “seven to eight months” is possible in some cases. Brownlow Medallist Tony Liberatore famously returned from his knee reconstruction in 18 weeks in 1998. SUPERCOACH: THE ROOKIES TO TRADE IN AND OUT FRONT FOOT: LIONS BAT AWAY DAYNE BEAMS TRADE RUMOURS Goldsack, who had one of the best seasons of his 161-game career last year, is without a contract for next season, but is determined to play on in 2019. He left for a three-week holiday in Europe this week where he will continue his rehabilitation program in the hope of ramping up his training upon his return to Collingwood early next month. It would give Goldsack less than two full months to be ready for a return to competitive football through the VFL, about 28 weeks after blowing his knee in the final minutes of a JLT preseason game against Western Bulldogs in Moe. A more conservative timeline for his recovery would have him in-line to play preseason games next year. Goldsack was a permanent fixture in defence last year and finished just outside the top 10 in the best and fairest. He also received the best clubman award and is highly-respected for his off-field contribution around the club. The man who replaced Leon Davis for the 2010 Grand Final replay win over St Kilda said he wants to play on into a 13th season. “I’m keen to play,” Goldsack said on Triple M. “It’s not until you take something away that you really miss it. “I don’t want to go out on these terms. I think my body is still going really well. I don’t get soft tissues my speed is still there.” Watch every match of every round of the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. SIGN UP NOW >
Originally published as AFL Daily: Live rolling footy news from around Australia, June 14, 2018