Patrick Cripps disappointed Bryce Gibbs was traded but he has faith in club’s young midfielders

EMERGING Carlton star Patrick Cripps is ready for his first injury-free pre-season and is excited to see his young teammates step up in place of the departed Bryce Gibbs.

Bryce Gibbs with Patrick Cripps during his days at the Blues. Picture: Getty Images

PATRICK Cripps says his best football is to come after recovering from the broken leg that cruelled his 2017 season.

Cripps fractured his fibula after copping a kick to the calf from Demon Jayden Hunt in Round 16 but is now primed for his first full summer of training since joining Carlton for the 2014 season.

He has been back running for eight weeks and after missing last year’s pre-season because of a back complaint, he’s raring to go.

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“I had about 10 weeks off after I did it it, it healed properly, I’m really excited for a for a full pre-season,” said Cripps, 22.

“I’ll do everything from now ... basically two weeks after the season finished I was back running.

“I actually thought I was made of chalk by the end of the year, I’d had a few broken bones.

Patrick Cripps and Marc Murphy at Carlton’s pre-season training.

“I’ve broken my right leg and left leg now ... they’re both unlucky incidents.

“I haven’t done a full pre-season yet so I’m really excited to put my body through a tough pre-season and I know my best footy is ahead of me so I’m excited about that.”

Cripps said the defection of gun midfielder Bryce Gibbs to Adelaide was frustrating, but he backed the club’s decision to trade the No.1 draft pick back to his home state.

“I had a beer with him the other day and I said, ‘We’ll still be good mates but once we step over that white line I might have to give you one under the ears’,” Cripps said with a grin as the Blues trained at Princes Park.

“Gibbo going is disappointing in a sense, but ... there’s an opportunity for a lot of young mids that probably haven’t proven their hand yet that are very talented and I think once they get more midfield opportunity they’ll stand up and play good footy.

Patrick Cripps is still mates with Bryce Gibbs. Picture: Getty Images

“Internally we know the direction we’re heading.

“From the outside (some) might say it’s a step backwards, but that’s what pre-season’s for.

“We’ve got guys like Sammo (Petrevski-) Seton, Zaccie Fisher, Matt Kennedy, Darcy Lang. We’re going to put a big pre-season into them and I think strength in numbers, we’ll definitely be able to fill the void.

“ ... I know for me personally, 2015, when a few of the guys got injured, I played more midfield time and it really kick-started my career.”