Alex Johnson to play first senior game in 2,136 days when Sydney take on Collingwood at the SCG
FOUR different Prime Ministers, 2,136 days, 143 Sydney games. A lot’s happened since Swan Alex Johnson last played a senior game, but he will be back to take on Collingwood this weekend in one of footy’s great stories of persistence.
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The most persistent player in the AFL Alex Johnson will play his first game of senior football since the 2012 grand final when he lines up against Collingwood at the SCG on Saturday night.
When he runs out against the Magpies it will have been 2136 days since he last played AFL footy.
In that time there have been four different prime ministers and the Swans have played 143 games without him.
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The last time he played Brownlow favourite Tom Mitchell was yet to debut and Marcus Bontempelli hadn’t even been drafted.
There have also been 39 players who have debuted for Sydney and 27 of his current teammates are yet to play senior football alongside him. Among them is Dane Rampe who came into the team as a direct result of Johnson’s first knee injury, he has now played 133 games.
Over that time opportunities to call it quits have been plentiful for the 26 year old who has had a staggering 12 knee operations including five reconstructions over a four-year period from early 2013.
“I had my eyes firmly set on coming back to the AFL,” Johnson said.
“That’s why I’ve stuck at it and had five knee reconstructions, 12 operations on the knee and been through a lot over the journey but I have always had my sights on getting back in the AFL. You
speak to anyone that is close to me and they know I wouldn’t give up until that happens, but there were times lying in a hospital bed, having two surgeries in a week that I was more concerned about my health rather than getting back and playing footy, you start to question whether it will actually happen so I am over the moon that it’s come.”
When John Longmire broke the news to Johnson this morning he said it took the 26 year old time to process the information and he needed to actually see his name on the magnetic board for it to truly sink in.
“Yeah I had to dust it (Johnson’s name tag) off,” Longmire said.
“Fair to say it had an inch or so of dust. It’s been creeping across over the weeks to be honest. It has. That’s just been the reality of it. We’ve been talking about it as a match committee now for a number of weeks, so he’s a competitor. Alex is a competitor.
“We dusted it off. Everybody has gone through a lot since Alex’s last game. That’s undeniable and to get him back into the senior team this week is an absolute credit to the type of person he is.”
Johnson’s first ruptured his ACL in a NAB Challenge match against the Gold Coast Suns in March 2013.
He had a traditional knee reconstruction a month later which failed before having a hybrid (LARS/Traditional) in July. He suffered another ACL injury in his first game back in 2014 playing in the reserves.
It was then two and a half years before Johnson is able to run again.
Over this period he had another three reconstructive surgeries and another seven procedures including two bone grafts. Throughout most of this period he was on antibiotics to battle complications caused by infections.
Persistence, Toughness, Courage.#ProudlySydney pic.twitter.com/kgjCoSl8RA
— Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) August 1, 2018
Alex Johnson will play his first senior game in 2136 days when we takes on Collingwood at the SCG on Saturday night.
— Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) August 1, 2018
📰https://t.co/JbDOHmh3EO pic.twitter.com/mxfqDPAaOm
He has become a major source of inspiration to his teammates who were there 18 months ago when he ran laps of the SCG for the first time in over two years.
His return to football in July last year playing for the Swans reserves in the NEAFL was 1,736 days (three and half years) after his last game, the 2012 grand final. He played out the rest of the season playing in the losing NEAFL grand final against the Brisbane Lions reserves.
He has now played the last seven games for the Swans reserves in the NEAFL.
“I was never going to give up until a collection of medical professionals said there is just no way you can get back from this.
“There is an element of stubbornness of me saying, ‘I’m going to prove wrong anyone who’s ever doubted me’.
“But the overriding thing that drives me is just the passion for the game.
“I’ve fulfilled one dream of playing AFL and another one of winning a premiership, but my next dream is to make it back onto an AFL field and play for a few years.
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Originally published as Alex Johnson to play first senior game in 2,136 days when Sydney take on Collingwood at the SCG
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