JACK Trengove says “it’s amazing” to be playing football again.

Trengove, who has missed roughly two years with a serious foot injury, said he simply loved being back out on the park, having played all four VFL matches for Casey.

“[I’ve] spent a long time out of the game, not being able to train … things that you took for granted growing up. Now that I’m finally back out there, training every week and playing on weekends, life couldn’t be better for me to be honest,” he told Melbourne TV.

“Going back a couple of years when it first came up that I’d have some surgery, I thought ‘it’s all right, 12 to 18 months, I’ll get back out there and be fine.’ Then I went through the whole period again and plenty of people out there doubted that I’d ever get back to this stage, so there is an element of me thinking that I’m playing on borrowed time and that sort of excites me as well.

“Now, you throw caution to the wind and just go for it and make sure that you do enjoy playing and appreciate every moment.”

Trengove said he looks back to the middle of last year, just to highlight how much he appreciates playing again.

“I always reflect back to this time last year; I was sitting in the gym in a cold June,” he said.

“I was miserable and I wasn’t allowed to go outside and run around and kick the footy with my mates and those little moments sucked; pushing weights around, the Wattbike and swimming laps of the pool.

“Now I get to come out every morning and train with the guys that I love playing with. I’m just enjoying every single second of it and hopefully it starts progressing well.”

Trengove said he had “a really good support network” that helped him stay positive.

“I am more of a positive person than a negative person; I don’t see the point of dwelling on ‘why always me?’ and ‘how did this happen to me?’,” he said.

“I just think, ‘oh well, you deal with the cards that you’ve been dealt with’ and you’ve just got to make do as best you can. I used different distractions along the way. I concentrated more on uni and I went and watched a lot of footy and caught up with people and made new relationships with different people who always kept me moving forward and progressing.

“As soon as you sit back and dwell, that’s when it can really eat you up. So just remaining positive and trying to improve little things like, my Wattbike time or swimming a lap of the pool a bit faster or pushing more weight than you had previously, you’ve got to set those little goals to keep improving.”

Trengove said one of the highlights to emerge from his time off from the game was the opportunity to watch his sister Jess run for Australia.

“The previous year, I got to go away to the Commonwealth Games and watched [Jess] win a bronze medal in the marathon, which was the most unbelievable experience that I’ve ever been a part of – that’s the silver lining in it all,” he said.

“If I didn’t get injured then I would never have been able to do that. Apart from that, I’m really close to my family and my mates back in Adelaide so I try to catch up with them as much as possible.

“I did that a lot the last couple of years, so those things certainly keep you grounded. Getting around people who are a really great support to you certainly keeps your spirits up. It does make you recognise that there is light at the end of the tunnel and whatever happens, happens and whatever that is, make the most of it.”

Overall, Trengove said keeping a positive attitude every day was critical to his comeback.

“That was the big one for me, as simple as it is, to go to training every day with a smile on my face and being positive, because even the players who aren’t injured, they go through ups and downs throughout the season,” he said.

“It can be cold in June and July and [you might] lose a couple of games on the trot.

“I’ve got to be making sure that I’m positive all the time to make sure that I can help them in anyway.”