Callum Mills wants to stay Swans co-captain as he takes responsibility for Mad Monday injury

Callum Mills has apologised for his Mad Monday injury and spoken about facing his coach and his future as Sydney Swans co-captain.

Sydney Swans co-captain Callum Mills has spoken about his Mad Monday incident for the first time. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Callum Mills says a decision on whether he should still lead the Swans next season is up to the club following his Mad Monday shoulder injury.

Mills said he had a difficult meeting with coach John Longmire in the days after the incident but refused to address the specifics surrounding the wrestle with teammate Jacob Konstanty at a Surry Hills pub.

The Sydney co-captain is set to miss the first half of the 2024 season after tearing his rotator cuff off the bone.

“I made a bad mistake,” Mills said.

“I put myself at risk and I take full responsibility.

“I’m obviously extremely disappointed. This is not a reflection of the captain I aspire to be, and I’m gutted that this will potentially put the start of my season at risk.”

When quizzed about his position as captain of the club, Mills said he was still unsure about whether he will hold that role next season.

However, it’s a position he wants to keep and believes he can still contribute strongly to the success of the Swans going forward.

“Look, that’s a decision for the club to make at the right time,” Mills said. “We haven’t had those discussions, but what I will say is I absolutely love leading this club.

“It’s something I hold deep in my heart … it’s a position that I don’t hold for granted.”

A ‘gutted’ Callum Mills addressed the media after tearing his rotator cuff on Mad Monday. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Mills confirmed that while the incident occurred on a Monday night, it wasn’t until Wednesday night that he went to get scans.

Persistent shoulder pain eventually sparked Mills and the Swans’ medical staff into action, leading to a challenging meeting with John Longmire on Thursday.

“The next couple of days I didn’t know what I’d done, it wasn’t that bad at the time, but obviously it is what it is now,” Mills said.

“As soon as I found out the results I went into Horse’s (Longmire) office and told him exactly what happened. As you can imagine, he was extremely disappointed, as am I myself.

“It was an extremely hard (meeting), but that’s the respect I have for Horse to be able to own it and take full responsibility.”

Mills also confirmed that he didn’t have any existing shoulder issues and the injury 100 per cent stemmed from the incident with Konstanty.

Callum Mills hopes to keep the Swans’ captaincy. Picture: Phil Hillyard

While he refused to go into specifics on what actually occurred on Mad Monday, Mills made clear that he will do everything he can to get back onto the field as soon as possible.

The typical rehabilitation period for a rotator cuff injury this serious is between 9-12 months. Mills has conceded that it means the start of his season is in doubt but is refusing to rule out an earlier return.

“There’s a window that we’ve been given but the likelihood is it may impact the start of the season.

“But there’s still a lot of water to go under the bridge and we’ll get the best advice and go on surgeon and specialists’ advice.

“One thing I do want to assure people is I’m doing everything I possibly can to get back as quickly as possible.”

Originally published as Callum Mills wants to stay Swans co-captain as he takes responsibility for Mad Monday injury