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Kennelly set for amazing comeback
April 1, 2004 - 6:05PM
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A week after thinking his AFL season was over, Sydney's Tadgh Kennelly rates himself an 80 per cent chance of playing against Fremantle at the SCG on Sunday.
The speedy defender will have a fitness test before a final decision is made on his availability.
"I did a running session (today) to see how the knee would pull up," he said.
"I'll have to wait and see if any swelling comes, running wise it was fine ... the main thing was to get through today without limping."
The 22-year-old Irish-born star had an arthroscopy last Thursday to repair a torn cartilage in his left knee as a result of a training mishap the day before.
He sat out Sydney's heart breaking two-point loss to the Lions but underwent extensive, 18-hour-a-day rehabilitation, spending 48 hours straight with his leg elevated.
Kennelly said that at the time of the injury he thought his season was over.
"It was quite scary at the time because I thought I'd pretty much done my knee," Kennelly said.
"I couldn't actually straighten my knee, my knee was locked.
"The doctor said: `Your cartilage is done and you've got to go and have surgery pretty much straight away'.
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"My best result obviously was to play this weekend.
"I was trying to keep the negatives out of my mind, and because one of the other boys did their knee (Nick Malceski, season ending) I thought oh no, this can't happen, two in two weeks'."
Kennelly watched the Brisbane game in Sydney with forward Matthew Nicks, who is sitting out the beginning of the season with a back strain.
He said the result could have gone either way and rejected criticism that Sydney's short-kicking, high-possession game plan cost them a win.
"People are saying our strategy, our tactics were poor, but we could have beaten them and then it wouldn't have been held up as a poor option or poor tactic," Kennelly said.
April 1, 2004 - 6:05PM
Print this article
Email to a friend
A week after thinking his AFL season was over, Sydney's Tadgh Kennelly rates himself an 80 per cent chance of playing against Fremantle at the SCG on Sunday.
The speedy defender will have a fitness test before a final decision is made on his availability.
"I did a running session (today) to see how the knee would pull up," he said.
"I'll have to wait and see if any swelling comes, running wise it was fine ... the main thing was to get through today without limping."
The 22-year-old Irish-born star had an arthroscopy last Thursday to repair a torn cartilage in his left knee as a result of a training mishap the day before.
He sat out Sydney's heart breaking two-point loss to the Lions but underwent extensive, 18-hour-a-day rehabilitation, spending 48 hours straight with his leg elevated.
Kennelly said that at the time of the injury he thought his season was over.
"It was quite scary at the time because I thought I'd pretty much done my knee," Kennelly said.
"I couldn't actually straighten my knee, my knee was locked.
"The doctor said: `Your cartilage is done and you've got to go and have surgery pretty much straight away'.
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advertisement
"My best result obviously was to play this weekend.
"I was trying to keep the negatives out of my mind, and because one of the other boys did their knee (Nick Malceski, season ending) I thought oh no, this can't happen, two in two weeks'."
Kennelly watched the Brisbane game in Sydney with forward Matthew Nicks, who is sitting out the beginning of the season with a back strain.
He said the result could have gone either way and rejected criticism that Sydney's short-kicking, high-possession game plan cost them a win.
"People are saying our strategy, our tactics were poor, but we could have beaten them and then it wouldn't have been held up as a poor option or poor tactic," Kennelly said.
