TOUGH-nut Jack Viney says the fractured fibula he suffered earlier in the season has healed well, but a recent knock to the area has been an issue the past couple of weeks.
Viney missed six matches from rounds three to eight, after suffering the injury to his right leg late in the round two clash against Greater Western Sydney in Canberra.
But the tenacious Demon said it was not a major concern and would not interfere with his preparation for Melbourne’s clash down the highway against Geelong on Sunday.
“[My return] game [against Port Adelaide] in Alice Springs was fine – it was no dramas. I pulled up really well and recovered really well and then against Collingwood, I got a fair whack around that area, where I got the fracture,” he told Dee TV.
“That really was pretty sore and complicated a few things for the rest of that game – and also in recovery. Probably still, after the weekend’s game, [I haven’t] 100 per cent fully recovered from that knock, but the fracture side of it is fine and I’ve got no bone or structural damage.
“I’m playing with a bit of soreness, but I’m all good to go for this weekend.”
Viney acknowledged the rehabilitation period was tough to endure.
“It’s never fun in the rehab group, but I was told [it was going to be] four to six weeks, so I thought if I’d done everything right, I’d be back in four weeks,” he said.
“I had my mind that I’d miss four games and then come back, and I was tracking all right. But as I got back into running, I had a few complications with my hamstring, which flared things up and I missed a few more weeks, which is when it started to get frustrating.
“I thought I should’ve been playing and I was still out on the sidelines, so that was the toughest period for sure.”
Viney said he tried the famed Daniel Cross bone broth – a remedy the veteran used when he fractured his fibula last year – but the young Demon otherwise kept his recovery pretty simple.
“People keep talking about the bone broth, so I tried a few things – just trying to get myself back as quick as possible and tick all of the boxes,” he said.
“It’s your basic stuff, which is going to make the most difference and that’s sleep, doing what the physios say, icing, recovering – it’s all the basic stuff, which matters.
“I also thought it wouldn’t hurt to try a few different things.”