Gold Coast Suns key forward Sam Day puts the pain of a horror hip injury behind him

CROWEATER Sam Day — back in town to play the Adelaide Crows on Saturday — reveals his comeback from an horrific hip injury.

Gold Coast’s Sam Day is stretchered from the field during last year’s JLT Community Series match against Brisbane after dislocating his hip. Picture: Chris Hyde (Getty Images).

• Rucci’s look at Round 6
• Hammer blow as Port loses Hartlett for season
• Round 6 AFL teams

SAM Day says he wouldn’t wish the pain on anyone.

“It was definitely a 10 out of 10 on the pain scale and if I could go higher I would,’’ the Gold Coast key forward said of the horror hip injury that cost him his 2017 season and required 11 months of rehabilitation.

“The green whistle (pain-relieving drug Penthrox) is usually your friend but the pain was so bad that even it didn’t do too much for me.

“I’ve had a dislocated elbow before but when the hip was out it was the worst thing I’d ever experienced and something I certainly wouldn’t wish upon anyone else.

“It was horrible and by the time I’d got to the changerooms the pain was so intense I’d passed out a bit.’’

South Australian Day — the No. 3 draft pick from SANFL club Sturt in 2010 — suffered a hip injury usually seen in car crash victims when he went to gather a loose ball in the opening quarter of the Suns’ first JLT Community Series game against Brisbane at Broadbeach’s Merrimac Oval in February last year.

“I just bent down to grab a normal ground ball — as I would have done at training every day of the week — and got a little push in the back and hyperextended my right knee,’’ the 25-year-old said.

“The impact of the landing meant that with the mechanism of the body the force has to go somewhere and it punched my femur bone out the back of my right hip and chipped a significant piece of bone off the back of my hip.’’

An X-ray showing where Gold Coast Suns player Sam Day had two screws inserted to reattach a piece of bone to his hip. Picture: Gold Coast Suns.

Day had his hip joint put back in its socket in the changerooms by club doctor Barry Rigby before being taken by ambulance to hospital.

He had surgery the following day where two screws were inserted to reattach his hip to his pelvis.

Day was told by Rigby that the only injuries he had seen like his were the result of car accidents.

“The way it was explained to me was that because people drive with a straight right leg with their foot on the accelerator or brake, when they are hit in the front of their car the force can rip right up through their foot and push their leg out the back of their hip,’’ Day said.

The 197cm, 102kg former Prince Alfred College student was told that the injury shouldn’t prevent him from playing again but that he would miss a year of football — a terrible blow after he had completed one of his best pre-seasons.

DAY was kept off his legs for the first eight weeks of his recovery to allow the bone to heal.

Then it was a slow build as he first learned to put weight on his legs and walk again.

Four weeks later he started to climb stairs and then he progressed to jogging, small jumps and changing direction.

Throughout his rehabilitation he leant on girlfriend of four years Ali Thomas and parents Chris and Raeleen for support.

“I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get back to playing footy, especially early when you question where things are at,’’ Day said.

“It was mentally and emotionally challenging but dad and mum were great with their support and Ali moved up last year (from Adelaide) to be with me.

“She is a physio and was on to me all the time to do the rehab at home, so that made things easier.’’

Day spent time with Ali and her United States-based family in San Francisco, where he undertook some revolutionary biomechanics training to help with his recovery.

This included training in custom-made shorts that highlight the muscle action of athletes.

“It was cutting-edge technology and was very important for me because it highlighted that the muscles were firing properly, which aided my recovery,’’ he said.

Day, who signed a three-year contract extension with Gold Coast just prior to his injury that ties him to the club until the end of 2019, admitted to battling mental demons when he made his long-awaited return to action in the inaugural AFLX tournament in February.

“There were a couple of good contests early in the AFLX and a couple of ground balls that I had to get down to, which was my biggest fear,’’ he said.

“It was good to be able to have that little taster of football before the real stuff started because it boosted my confidence and gave me a good preparation into the year.

“But it’s difficult to replicate all your on-field actions at training, so even on the weekend (in the thrilling five-point win against Brisbane in the Q Clash) there were a couple of times when I got pushed into a contest on my right leg and it (the injury) sort of went through my mind.

“But the more I play the more I’m ticking all the confidence boxes and I’m just loving being back out there playing again.’’

Day, who hails from a famous SA footballing family with grandfather Ian and great-uncle Robert both in the SA Football Hall of Fame, has played all five games for the Suns this season, averaging 9.6 disposals and 3.4 marks while kicking four goals.

“I’m well ahead of where I thought I’d be in terms of being able to come back and play at a good level again,’’ he said.

Sam Day takes a strong mark despite the close attention from West Coast’s Tom Barrass in their round 4 clash.

“I had a good chat with ‘Dewy’ (new senior coach Stuart Dew) about getting my legs underneath me again and some consistency back in my game.

I’m still finding my feet but I’ve really enjoyed playing as a permanent forward again. I was talking to dad about it the other day and we estimated that of my 103 games I’ve probably played about 60 as a forward and the rest as a backman and in the ruck.

“Since ‘Dewy’ has come in he’s settled me down as a forward and I think I’m really benefiting from that continuity.’’

AT 3-2, the Suns have equalled their best start to an AFL season, joining their 2014 and 2016 sides, and Day said Port Adeaide and Hawthorn premiership player Dew should take much of the credit.

“Stuey’s been amazing,’’ he said.

“He’s only been here for six months but it feels like an entirely new club because he’s come in and built relationships with everyone and changed the whole dynamic of the place.

“He’s been at successful clubs in Port, Hawthorn and Sydney (as an assistant coach) and has brought some really good processes with him.

“He has the playing group gelling together and you can’t fault him in terms of his footy-smarts.’’

Day said he loved living on the Gold Coast and believed only a bad run with injuries had stopped the Suns, who will on Saturday night at Adelaide Oval attempt to beat the Crows for the first time at the 11th attempt, from “having a fair crack’ at a finals spot in their first seven years in the competition.

“We've had a good start to the season and we’ve just got to stick at it because if things go our way and we get a better run with injuries anything is possible,’’ he said.

As for his future, Day said he is a loyal person who wants to be a one-club player but he didn’t rule out finishing his career in Adelaide.

“I’d definitely like to come back to Adelaide to live one day because my family is there but at the moment I’m loving being up here,’’ he said.

“I’d like to finish my career with the Suns but things can change, so who knows?’’

[e-mail]

Originally published as Gold Coast Suns key forward Sam Day puts the pain of a horror hip injury behind him