The young defender had minor knee surgery over the Christmas break and has also been working to overcome a hip issue which came after a collision at training.
Speaking to NMFC.com.au, Delaney detailed his frustrations and spoke about the challenges of missing a month of footy.
“It started in Utah. I had surgery with my knee so I gave it time to heal and then recently it flared again. Thankfully and with the help of the physios, it’s settled down really well and I’m able to resume playing.
“I’ve had to slowly come back in and it’s taken a bit longer than expected,” he said.
Delaney still needs to monitored closely, meaning even while the 20-year-old plays, he’ll still be putting a lot of time in at the gym to strengthen his problem areas.
The 20-year-old is fully aware of the delicate balance between making sure his injuries are fully fixed and still being able to play normal game time on the weekends.
“It’s going to be an ongoing thing until it fully heals. You definitely need a bit of rest initially but then you load it with what’s called injury prevention weights.
“They’re really light and they target the certain areas to strengthen specific muscles. I did that for a few weeks and I’ve still got a way to go because otherwise it can deteriorate pretty easily.
“They’re long (injury prevention weights) and they get boring but you can feel them working even though they’re just light. It’s a big help in the long run for sure.
“It’s one of those issues where in training and a game, it takes a bit of time to warm up. You’ve got to get it moving so it’ll be an ongoing thing.”
Since his debut in 2012 Delaney has spent more time off the track than he would have liked, but there are plenty of positives.
“After playing a couple of games last year, it’s about knowing you can match it at that level of football. You’ve got to make the senior guys work harder to keep their spot or eventually push your way into the side and play consistent football.”
In his first outing for North Ballarat, Delaney played less than half a game, before stepping up his load and spending almost a full game on the field against Box Hill.
“Coming back into the side you almost have to start from scratch.
“I find the hardest thing is the slight judgments when the ball is in flight. When I got back, my main focus was, ‘I’m a defender, I’m going to defend first.’ Then the rewards will come later offensively and running off your man.
“The feel of the ball was a big one. You’re injured and you still do a lot of ball work but it’s the ball movement that you lose a little bit while you’re out.
“Once you get a few touches early your confidence grows and you can work from there in running out the rest of the game.”
Delaney also knows his three year contract isn’t a safety blanket as he strives to break back into the senior side.
“You can’t take the foot off the pedal. At times you feel like everyone is watching you and when things aren’t going well, you feel like people have that perception you’re tapering off.
“The best thing about the club is the coaching staff wants you to get better and so do the players, they’ll pull you up on it and really keep pushing you back to new heights.
