It’s been a tough year for Brad Crouch.

An ongoing groin injury kept the Adelaide midfielder on the sidelines for the entire 2018 season.

After struggling to overcome the injury at the beginning of the year, the 24-year-old underwent surgery in June and has spent the past six months in rehabilitation, working his way back to full fitness.

“Once the 2018 season started, I virtually couldn’t run, I was just in too much pain,” Crouch told AFC Media.

“It was very frustrating missing an entire season, I’ve had a few injuries over the past few years, so it’s been a frustrating time but I’ve just tried to stay as positive as I can, so I can get back to playing the footy I know I can play.”

Now, with two months of pre-season under his belt, Crouch said he’s feeling far more confident.

“I’m feeling really good physically, I’ve been virtually pain free since I had the surgery in June,” he said.

“I’ve spent the past six months getting my fitness back and my lungs back because I probably didn’t run for six months or so. I’m starting to feel really good running now.”

He said he’s done a “mountain of work” around injury prevention.

“For recovery, I’ve done a lot of strengthening stuff around my pelvis and core and my glutes, so I’ve done a lot of leg weights,” Crouch said.

“I’ve tried to stay as lean as I can as well, particularly when I wasn’t running which is hard for anyone, but it was a goal for me and I’m definitely feeling better for it now.”

It may have been a challenging task but Crouch has worked his way up to training at almost full capacity.

“I’m doing about 80 per cent of the program at the moment and after Christmas I should be doing 100 per cent of the pre-season with the boys and building up to games,” he said.

“I’ve been doing a lot of work, including three running sessions and footy sessions a week.

“My main goal for the new year is to stay injury-free and as positive as I can and just enjoy my footy.”