For Adelaide defender Tom Doedee, the past six weeks have been a rollercoaster of emotions.
In the early stages of the Crows’ Round 12 clash against Gold Coast, the 26-year-old landed awkwardly on his knee after a marking contest.
Scans later revealed he had ruptured the Anterior Cruciate Ligament in his right knee, resulting in him having to undergo a second knee reconstruction after suffering the same injury in 2019.
Speaking to Sauce and Thomo on The Crows Radio Show, Doedee revealed his immediate thoughts when the incident occurred and his emotions in the hours following.
“In 2019 when I did my left one I felt a twist and a pop straight away and when I came to the bench and said I felt a pop that’s when I first thought it was pretty bad,” Doedee said.
“This time it was more of a twist and then a bone-crunching sort of thing and that basically masked the pop, so I thought I might be alright, hence why we strapped it up and tried to go for a bit of a run on it.
“The physios and doctors didn’t think it was the ACL early on just because all the adrenalin made all the muscles tense.
“But the pain quickly became too much, I took the taping off and went inside and once it settled down it got worse and as the night wore on it became more and more real that I’d done an ACL.”
Going through the beginning of a 12-month recovery process for the second time, Doedee said having perspective has helped him stay positive.
“Last time I’d have a moment every couple of days or so, where I’d be thinking about how long the journey is ahead of me,” Doedee said.
“But this time, because I’ve got the perspective of having been there before, I’ve probably lent my family a bit more.
“There still have been a couple of moments since the operation where I have thought ‘why me’ but I quickly snap out of that mindset by doing things that make me happy.”
To hear more from Doedee, plus a chat with Rory Sloane, by clicking the above link or heading to the LiSTNR app. Tune into Triple M Adelaide this Sunday at 9am or the LiSTNR app for the next episode of The Crows Radio Show, with up and coming defender Nick Murray.
