Lucas Anderson has taken on board advice from an AFL high-flyer not to rush his return from a knee reconstruction.
The Torquay spearhead has just ticked past 12 months since surgery to repair his anterior cruciate ligament.
However, a return to the field is still a month away for the 33-year-old after minor surgery late last month.
“There was just a little bit of cartilage that got wedged underneath my kneecap,” Anderson said.
“I met with the surgeons. We gave it a jab; he thought it would free it up and break it up, and just slowly work its way out, but it didn’t.
“He said I could get away with it. I was (in) full training, (but) it was just a bit uncomfortable in some positions,
“He said we can either get it out or you can just stay like it and get into it.
“But with the time we had up our sleeve, we were like, ‘Let’s just get it out and be done with it’.”
Anderson says conversations with Brisbane forward Linc McCarthy, who reinjured his reconstructed knee during an intraclub match in March.
The 2023 Bellarine leading goalkicker has a connection to McCarthy through his brother Curtis, who played with Anderson at GFNL club St Joseph’s
“He had surgery a couple of days after me, and then he came back and obviously redid his.” Anderson said
“He flicked me a message and said, ‘Just take your time. You’ve got plenty.’
“And once I heard that, it makes you pretty grounded; just to take your time, and if you’re not right, you’re not right.
“You’ve just got to get everything together, which he was, but it is nice to hear that from a professional.”
Anderson hopes to make at least two appearances before the league-wide bye in mid-July, which will likely see him play 7-8 games before finals.
After consecutive losses to start the season, Torquay has strung together four straight wins, with Anderson enjoying watching the evolution of Banjo Dyer and Will Montebello in a youthful Tigers forward line.
“Hopefully, when I come back, they take the key defenders and I just sneak around in the pocket,” Anderson laughed.
“That’d be nice and make it a bit easier.
“On the weekend (against Modewarre), I reckon nearly everyone down there would have been under the age of 22, other than Jesse Dawson, which is incredible.
“They love it. They’re so driven and pretty competitive against each other as well, which is good.”
X: @krockfootball
