DOCTORS told Jack Roughsedge last year he needed an operation that could leave him unable to play football again. 

As far as those doctors were aware, no one who had had that operation had gone on to play in the AFL.

It was tough news to digest for a teenager who had dreamed of playing in the AFL for as long as he could remember. 

Roughsedge had been making encouraging progress towards that goal too. 

An impressive underage year with the Oakleigh Chargers in their 2015 premiership season saw the prolific ball-winner appointed captain ahead of the 2016 TAC Cup season, a year when he aimed to press his case for selection in the NAB AFL Draft.

But, in November 2015, Roughsedge felt a crack in his left knee during a match-practice drill at the Chargers' second pre-season training session. 

Scans revealed he had severely torn the meniscus cartilage in his knee.

After an operation to repair that, he returned seven months later, playing a couple of games for his local club, Blackburn, in the Eastern Football League before returning for Oakleigh in round eight against the Murray Bushrangers. 

Roughsedge was outstanding that day with 39 possessions and eight tackles but sensed his knee was still not right.

He was diagnosed soon after with bone bruising in his left leg and ruled out for the rest of the season. Doctors also discovered he was bow-legged, with his left knee cap significantly out of place.

That was when Roughsedge was told he would require a high tibial osteotomy, an operation during which surgeons would break his tibia and extend the bone via a bone graft. By realigning his leg in this way, it was hoped Roughsedge's knee would absorb his weight evenly when he walked or ran.

There were no guarantees, however, that he would play football again.

"I saw a couple of surgeons who said no player has played at AFL level having had that operation and they couldn't say whether I would be able to play again," Roughsedge said. 

"For a period of time after that I sure did think things were against me. I thought it might be it for me with footy."  

Renowned orthopaedic surgeon Julian Feller performed Roughsedge's operation in January.  He spent the next six weeks on crutches. When he started to walk again, he struggled.

"I would go to the shops and I would be OK for the first five minutes, but by the time I was ready to go back to the car I would be limping more and more. If I sat down for too long, my leg would get pretty sore too," Roughsedge said.

Fortunately, that period would prove the toughest stage of his rehabilitation. 

Three months after his operation he was walking without any pain and, after a positive follow-up with Feller, he started training again and was able to gradually increase his work load without any hiccups. 

Jack Roughsedge in action for the Oakleigh Chargers. Picture: AFL Photos

Roughsedge had written off the entire 2017 season before his operation but by June he returned to the field for Blackburn. And after four games for Blackburn, he got a call up from the Chargers, running out in round 15 against the Western Jets. 

Roughsedge quickly readjusted to the tempo of the TAC Cup, racking up 28 possessions against the Jets.

The 19-year-old would play the Chargers' final five games of the season, including their two finals. His form in those games was so outstanding he finished third in Oakleigh's best and fairest award.

"It was a terrific effort from Jack and he was clearly a better player than what we'd seen previously," Chargers talent manager Craig Notman said. 

"His contested work and his ability to win plenty of the ball were still there, but he was noticeably quicker and spread better from stoppages."

Those five games put Roughsedge back in the frame to be drafted at next month's NAB AFL Draft or the subsequent Rookie Draft. 

Any interested clubs will discover Roughsedge's leg is in good shape. Plates and screws inserted into his tibia during the operation were removed a few weeks ago and in his final check-up with Feller this week he was given the all-clear.

"It feels really good," Roughsedge said.

Being back doing what he loves feels just as good. 

"At the lowest point of rehab all I wanted to do was get back and play. If that was at local level with Blackburn, I would have been absolutely rapt with that," he said.

"But being able to come back and play for Oakleigh was a huge bonus, and to play good enough footy to be said to be half a chance of becoming a rookie, it's a pretty good feeling.

"Hopefully, fingers crossed, it will go my way next month."