DYNAMIC Demon Christian Petracca has been given the green light to hit the gas on his rehabilitation program and will use an off-season Red Bull training camp to renew his attack on 2025. 

Petracca was cleared by his surgeon to increase his heartrate during training in recent days and is feeling rejuvenated by the chance to get back to doing what he does best.  

“I'm going well, which is good,” Petracca told Melbourne Media.

“I’m just trying to prioritise my training and my injury.”

Petracca has travelled to Austria to train at the Red Bull Athlete Performance Centre during the past three off-seasons, where he finetunes his preparations for the season ahead. 

This year’s trip will provide the 28-year-old with the opportunity to kick-start his return to his customary elite fitness standards. 

“It’ll be awesome probably from a mental point of view, getting back to that confidence in myself and my body, ready to attack day one of pre-season,” he said.

“For me it's just been the most amazing experience, being able to use their facilities and have access to some of the best high performance people in the world.”

Melbourne’s AFL Performance Manager Selwyn Griffith said this is a great opportunity for Petracca and emphasised the importance of the upcoming camp for his ongoing recovery.

“This training camp is crucial for Christian, both from a performance and mental well-being perspective,” Griffith told Melbourne Media.

“We have worked closely with the high-performance team at Red Bull to ensure the camp maximises every opportunity, with the goal of having Christian fully prepared and ready for day one of pre-season.”

Petracca and Griffith on the Demon's return to the club in August.

The durable Demon who had played 145 consecutive games prior to his spleen injury, has his heart set on bursting out of the blocks in 2025.

“I'm really looking forward to day one of pre-season, especially with my injury and probably prioritising that at the moment and trying to get myself back both mentally and physically to the player and person I was,” he said. 

“I want to be able to compete and get back out on the ‘G in round one for the fans and be really excited to run back out there.”

The ebullient Demon is also counting down the days until he can get back amongst his teammates on day one of pre-season.

“To be around the boys and the connections that I have with them and the friendships that I have is just amazing,” Petracca said.

Petracca believes the extra downtime offered by the club’s first missed finals campaign in four seasons will hold the club in good stead come Round 1 next year. 

“We're all excited for this off season. I mean we're disappointed that we're not in finals, but I think we need to really focus on the positives,” he said.

“We've had a three-or-four-year block now where we haven't had an off season and pre-season, where we've been able to kind of switch off both mentally and physically.

“I think it'll be really important and valuable for us to have that extra five or six weeks off, get things in place both on the field and off the field and come back day one, ready to attack the year.”

Petracca is in high spirits on what the club can achieve in 2025, following his discussions with the club as the season drew to a close. 

“I think for me, the conversations I've had over the past two or three months with the club have been really healthy,” he said.

“We've had really robust discussions. I think that's awesome.  

“Like any workplace or any footy club, you have these conversations throughout the year and you just want to make the environment a really good one that we love coming to work.”