WESTERN Bulldogs captain Bob Murphy remains undecided about his playing future, admitting he oscillates between emotional extremes as he recovers from a second knee reconstruction.
 
Murphy, who will turn 34 in June, revealed plans to "get away" on holiday in a fortnight to consider whether he should embark upon a comeback.
 
The 295-gamer said reconstructive surgery had gone according to plan and he was already walking without pain or swelling in the joint.
 
Murphy ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the dying stages of his team's loss to Hawthorn in round three.
 
The Bulldogs are keen for Murphy to extend his career into at least an 18th season, given that before his mishap the reigning All Australian skipper had been in superb form and was a beacon for his brilliant young team.
 
"I haven't made a decision," Murphy told ABC Grandstand on Saturday.
 
"Depending on what day you get me, yesterday (it was) 'definitely yes', today 'definitely no', tomorrow who knows?
 
"Until (I'm) a bit emotionally stable, I just need a little bit of time to sort through a lot of things.
 
"The days where it's 'yes' are the very primitive things that you miss – leading the boys out, being on the inside of being part of the gang. They're the things you crave, although I think that's just the lot of a footballer – you'll always miss that.
 
"On the other days it's, 'I'm almost middle-aged, I've had a hell of a good run; I know the road ahead, I know how hard it is (to come back from the injury and), it's not just 10 months out or 12 months out and then you come back and hit the ground running – it's a difficult road once you're back.'
 
"There's a lot of things to weigh up.
 
"In the next little bit, there has to be a decision (made) for everyone."
 
Despite overwhelming support from the football public for Murphy to attempt to play on, former teammate Brian Lake declared he should retire in the best interests of the club.
 
"A lot of what Brian said made a lot of sense – it's a big ask to come back," Murphy said.
 
"The thing I disagree with was the inference that I could potentially be holding back Shane Biggs or Jason Johannisen, (which) didn't make a lot of sense to me."
 
Compared to his first knee reconstruction 10 years ago, Murphy feels better physically and mentally this time around.
 
"I'm still captain and there's a role for me to play," he said.
 
The deep-thinking Dog said he had reflected a lot upon his setback, which could potentially rob him of an elusive premiership.
 
"Because of how tumultuous the past few years have been and (with) so much effort by so many people to turn our footy club around, to do my knee against perhaps the greatest team of them all in a game of the round (when) we're three points up (with) 90 seconds to go, I don't know if poetic is the right word for it, but something like that, something Irish," he said.
 
"It might be Murphy's Law actually – whatever can go wrong will (go wrong).
 
"I haven't fully reconciled with it yet."
 
He described the past two seasons under coach Luke Beveridge as "the ride of my footy life".
 
"This past couple of weeks, as grim as the backdrop has been of (a) serious knee and potentially the end of your career, (for the most part) I've had this overwhelming sense of gratitude (for) how lucky I've been," he said.
 
"Playing in Luke's team and captaining his team has been the greatest thrill of my professional life."