21-year-old Richmond midfielder Nathan Drummond has spoken about his visit to America at the end of last year to work with one of the world’s leading knee specialists.
After injuring his anterior cruciate ligament on senior debut against Melbourne in round four last year, Drummond spent seven-and-a-half months working closely with Richmond's medical team in rehab at the club before making the trip east in mid-December to further progress his rehabilitation.
While the rest of his team mates sweated it out in camp in North Queensland preparing for the 2016 season, Drummond was learning about managing his body to cope with the rigours of a return to full training, and eventually playing.
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“The first few days were just a lot about athletic positions and trying to lengthen my hip and trying to straighten my knee back out,” Drummond told Roar Vision.
“(It) then progressed into gymnastics and sprints and agility, and then at the end of the week a bit of jumping and landing, which was good because that’s how I did my knee.
“I was a bit nervous doing a couple of jumping things, but once I fell and got a couple of hits it was a good confidence booster for me.”
As Drummond advances more in his recovery, the darkness that surrounded his initial diagnosis has abated, replaced with an ever-growing optimism for the future.
And while no timeline has been set for a return, Drummond finds the further he can distance himself from last Anzac Day eve, the more he feels like part of the playing group as he was at the same stage last year.
“As you get on with the rehab you find little goals you achieve, and it does get a bit more exciting, because I’m outside at the moment running and actually doing things that are footy-related, so I find that is a bit easier to cope with than at the start,” he said.
“Rehab is pretty lonely.
“You’re probably here earlier and sometimes here later, so you do work sometimes a lot more than what you would out on the track, and you do feel a bit isolated, particularly when the games are on...
“I find you just really want to be out there and try and help your team mates and you sort of feel like you’re in the background a little bit.
“The players are really good and they try and keep you included, but the reality is you’re not really a part of it when you’re in rehab trying to slog it out to get back on the track.
“It is a really hard road.”
Drummond can’t help but think back to the build-up and sensory overload that came with his league debut.
The further he builds up the strength and belief in his knee, the more you hope he gets to repeat that feeling again in the near future.
“I do think about coming back and playing,” Drummond said.
“I try not to because I don’t really know when that is, but it is exciting and it will feel like it’s my first year and I’ll feel like a new draftee when I do start playing.
“It’ll take a little while for me to get some confidence back in my knee just to get through a few games, and get those few knocks and really build some confidence out of those first few games.
“As you do new things and you do them a few times, you forget, and you just go on as if you don’t have an ACL history.”
