AS THE one-year anniversary of Ricky Henderson's horrific leg-break looms, the Adelaide defender feels ready to play his best football.

Henderson broke his fibula at the ankle in a training drill last February, which sidelined him until late in the season.

He returned for the Crows' round 16-clash against Greater Western Sydney and held his spot until the end of Adelaide's season but the mental scars of the injury took longer to heal than the break itself.

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By his own admission, the 26-year-old struggled for form and while he wasn't haunted by the incident during games, he said his confidence in his leg didn't return until the last few games.

This summer, he has so far enjoyed a full pre-season and given his ability and experience in defence, Henderson is set to play an important role for Adelaide in 2015.

"I struggled actually a fair bit – it probably took me until the last round or second-last round to get confidence back in what I was doing," Henderson said.

"It's a distant memory now … it's been a long time and the rehab's fully complete.

"I'm feeling a lot better [now compared to just before the injury last year] – I didn't do a whole heap of the pre-season last year."

At 188cm, Henderson has the versatility to swing from defence to attack and did so to great effect in 2013 before knee surgery ended that campaign after round 14.

He said he was keen for coach Phil Walsh to offer him plenty of game time in the NAB Challenge to help him hit round one with momentum.

"Hopefully I'll play as much as I can and just try and get into some good form," he said.

"I haven't had a lot of pre-season footy before so it'd be nice to try and get out there and play a couple of games consistently."

Twitter: @AFL_Harry