JACK Trengove says it was a relief to find out his foot injury was healing when he met with his surgeon on Monday, but says there is still a long way to go with his rehabilitation.
Although remaining realistic about his navicular bone injury to his left foot – Trengove has been sidelined with it since round five last year – he is also optimistic about the future.
“I went in and got the scan [earlier in the week] and caught up with my surgeon, who did the work on it back in October and it was pretty positive,” he told Dee TV.
“It was a big one for me just to tick off. It’s by no means healed or fully ready to go, but it’s showing that it’s healing again and hopefully now I can put some plans in to start running in the next couple of weeks and progress from there.
“You’re always nervous [with scans] and the amount of scans I’ve had now, there are no guarantees with it all, but I was very confident – just the way it’s been feeling from day to day.
“The work that I’ve been doing in the gym – it’s been feeling stronger and stronger, but without putting all my eggs in one basket and thinking it was all sweet, I was still very nervous. But [I was] happy to catch up with [my surgeon] Geoff [Tymms] and get the positive news.”
Trengove said it was “balancing act” between remaining realistic and optimistic about his playing future.
“I’ve always thought that there was no point dwelling on it and you’ve got to be as positive as possible, and good things come when you’re positive,” he said.
“There’s no doubt it’s difficult at times when you’re stuck in the gym and the boys are out training and playing in the middle of the season, but it is what it is.
“I’m just trying to improve every day in the things that I can do, and it helps having guys around like Christian Petracca, [who is also sidelined for the rest of the season] to keep it upbeat.
“I’ve just tried to stay as positive as possible and make the most of the little wins along the way.”
Trengove said he would sit down with elite performance manager Dave Misson, physiotherapist Sam Pietsch and sport science coordinator and rehabilitation coach Alex Sakadjian to “map out a bit of a plan”.
“’Rigga’ (Sakadjian) the rehab coach has been keeping a pretty close eye on me and we’ll just delve in to see what the next step is for me,” he said.
“It’ll be able about progressing into running and getting stronger and stronger. It’ll also be a bit of a balancing act along the way, and making sure we introduce little things – and the foot feels ok and then we go again.
“The long-term aim is to be right to go for pre-season, but it’s hard to put a timeframe on it, so we’ll just wait and see.”
Trengove said the strength work he had already undertaken would be critical in his running.
“That’s going to be the key part when I do get back to running – [making sure] my muscles around my navicular bone are as strong as possible to help it along the way,” he said.
“[I’ve] done a lot of bike work, swimming, boxing and any off legs form of physical activity you can think of – I’ve been having a crack at.
“Rigga has been really good in changing it up and keeping it exciting for me – and doing mini triathlons without the running. It’s been tough at times, but really enjoyable.”
