Geelong midfielder Nakia Cockatoo suffers another injury setback
Nakia Cockatoo’s frustrating injury curse has returned at a terrible time and Geelong will take a cautious approach with the luckless midfielder, who hasn’t played an AFL game in nearly two years.
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Luckless Geelong midfielder Nakia Cockatoo says he is focused on getting his body 100 per cent right before returning to full training after suffering a minor hamstring setback in recent weeks.
Cockatoo, who has not played at AFL level for almost two years and has a long history of injury concerns, felt his hamstring tighten up in a training exercise.
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Given his run of bad luck, Geelong plans on managing the 23-year-old conservatively following his latest setback as he looks to make his way back to playing in the coming months.
“The body is going OK at the moment, it is just trying to get my hammy strength back up to 100 per cent,” Cockatoo said.
“Hopefully, I’m back fully training soon and playing some footy. I’m making sure I’m doing everything right in the gym and making sure I’m up and running for training sessions — just trying to get the continuity in this year before I play any games.
“I want to make sure everything is all right before I do go 100 per cent. I’ve got support at the club, so I’ve been speaking to people.
“If I’m ever feeling frustrated or a bit angry, I can go and just talk to someone, which is nice.
“But I’m a pretty positive person, so it’s been easy in a way because I don’t really think about what happened, I’m thinking about what’s going to happen next, and that’s hopefully playing some footy.”
While only minor, Cockatoo adds to the list of Geelong players to have had pre-season injury setbacks, including Jack Steven, Mark O’Connor, Tom Stewart, Nathan Kreuger and Jordan Clark.
Joel Selwood, Mitch Duncan and Jake Kolodjashnij remain on modified programs, although Selwood is further advanced in his rehab than the latter pair.
Cockatoo, who comes out of contract at season’s end, conceded there was no time frame on his return.
“I think it’s just back to full training for three or four weeks, and then maybe even a VFL game, hopefully,” he said.
“It’s just doing everything right in the gym and then get back running on the track as well … (there is) no real timeline at the moment.”
Originally published as Geelong midfielder Nakia Cockatoo suffers another injury setback