Forward Josh Jenkins has spoken in detail for the first time about being taken to Melbourne’s Epworth Hospital following a heavy knock to the ribs early in Adelaide’s Round Two win over Hawthorn.
Speaking on afc.com.au’s regular The Pods Cast, released every game day of Crows matches at Adelaide Oval, Jenkins recalled the immense pain he felt and the subsequent fall-out of being cleared of structural damage.
“I feel a little bit like Nick Riewoldt to be honest. Nick was gone for the season a couple of weeks ago (with a knee injury) and now he’s back this week,” Jenkins said.
“It was interesting. (The pain) I was in was obvious and I went downstairs, as you do underneath the MCG, and the doctors took a look at me. I was in a fair bit of pain.”
Jenkins was examined by an independent doctor at the MCG, who declared the 28-year-old unfit to return to the field in conjunction with Club medical staff.
“The guy said, ‘You’re not coming back on the field’ and then he said, ‘We’re five minutes around the corner (from the Epworth Hospital) so we may as well go and look,” Jenkins said.
“I had some soreness up in my shoulder which as the doctors say is usually a good tell-tale sign for some internal bleeding.
“So we went and got it all checked out, and as much as I felt like a bit of a goose being in the hospital with nothing wrong with me, we wouldn’t have known unless I went.”
Crows Physical Performance Coordinator Matthew Bode, who played 108 AFL games over 10 seasons, empathised with Jenkins during the week.
“I was walking laps with Matty Bode on Wednesday and he said he had a similar thing back in his career,” Jenkins said.
“He was laying in hospital. He was at the X-Ray machine and he’s actually thinking, ‘I hope there’s something wrong with me’.
“As much as you, obviously, don’t want something to be wrong … you’re thinking ‘I’m in the hospital. If there’s nothing wrong with me, I’m copping it from all parts’.
“And fair enough, I have, but at the time I felt like I was going to die.”
After being ruled out of Saturday night’s Showdown, Jenkins’ focus now shifts to proving his fitness for the Round Four clash with Essendon at Adelaide Oval.
“I know ‘Pykey’ said he was most likely name me in the team and then make a decision but I probably didn’t get that close so there was no point trying to play any tricks or anything like that,” Jenkins said.
“It’s been an interesting week but the reason we made the decision was to focus on getting ready for next week so that’s what we’ll do.”
Hear JJ on The Pods Cast below
