AN ACL INJURY is one of the cruellest blows an AFL player can face.

Adam Tomlinson knows that all too well, going down with the season-ending knee injury in Round 7 last year.

But returning to the field quicker than most, Tomlinson pulled on the red and blue against the Western Bulldogs last Wednesday, 318 days after his last senior game.

“To be honest, I always wanted to play Round 1, but at the same time I knew that [it was going to be hard] to get back into the side, and especially our backend of the team – it’s pretty strong,” Tomlinson told Melbourne Media.

“Ever since the stats have been recorded it’s probably one of the strongest [backlines] ever, so I knew it was going to be a tough ask, but I’m pretty proud of myself to get back.

“I mean, I played against North Melbourne and Carlton, so I felt confident in my body, but to get the first official game, it was a bit of a win.”

While the rehabilitation process was always going to be taxing, Tomlinson was able to accelerate through it and set himself up for a faultless pre-season.

“I didn’t have any hiccups along the way,” he said.

“Selwyn (Griffith) was outstanding – he was phenomenal in doing my rehab,” Tomlinson said.

“We were lucky, we only had three boys in rehab, so I pretty much had him one on one.

“And because we went to Perth in a hub, I got six weeks extra of purposeful training, so I was very lucky and it did go quick, but at the same time it did go pretty slow.”

To hear more from Tomlinson in the lead up to Round 2, watch the video below: