Missing football through injury is frustrating at any level, but some inventive thinking during his recovery ensured Luke McDonald was well and truly ready to go as soon as he was fit.
Making his return last week against Brisbane, McDonald suffered a pec injury in the Round 4 clash against Adelaide, his first game of the season.
He says the ability to be able to maintain his conditioning throughout his rehabilitation period put him in an ideal spot for a strong return last weekend.
“The first couple of weeks I couldn’t really do anything, then I sort of worked out if I strapped my pec down and strapped my arm to my chest I’d be able to run,” McDonald told North Media.
“I still look a bit funny when I’m running because my arm’s sort of stuck, in the first six weeks I was running in a sling, then I just progressed through strength stuff.
“I’m lucky I don’t have big pecs to start with so there wasn’t much to get back. I just had to get through a couple of training sessions and now I’m back.”
Coming back to sport from a long-term injury has just as many mental hurdles as it does physical, if not more.
In the physical and competitive environment that is AFL, it can be difficult for returning players to regain confidence in their own body, and McDonald says getting through the first game unscathed has given him a big mental boost.
“It was massive mentally to be able to get through the game and be able to play a different role … we didn’t win but personally it was awesome just being back out there,” he said.
“We’re here to play footy so it’s been really tough watching, especially having so many young players I’ve just wanted to be out there so badly.
“Obviously we haven’t been getting to greatest results so you sort of feel guilty when you’re on the sidelines, so I just did everything I could to get back as quickly as I could.”
As the team’s co-vice-captain, McDonald was recognised for his leadership abilities amongst the playing group heading into the 2021 season.
Despite being absent for much of the campaign, he says he’s used his time off the field to develop his leadership skills and stayed as involved as possible in the development of some of North Melbourne’s emerging stars.
“I was just trying to hook in with a lot of the younger guys, and being in rehab I was in with Robbie Tarrant and Aidan Corr, and we were just trying to push the younger boys,” McDonald said.
“It was an interesting time because obviously I wasn’t out there, but I still feel like I was able to improve as a leader and as a person.
“I was just trying to give my honest feedback and just say what I was seeing out there … I know it sounds a bit boring and it’s not a very sexy word, but if we stick to the process the results will come.”
