AFTER a near-flawless run of avoiding injuries, Collingwood's Jeremy Howe says he was shocked it was a simple corked thigh that robbed him of a month of football and threatened his first finals campaign.
The 28-year-old suffered the cork, classified as a deep hematoma, in the minutes before he was concussed shortly before quarter-time in the Magpies' round 19 loss to Richmond.
But instead of the injury working its way out like corks tend to do, his carried on for 17 days without responding to the usual course of recovery – and Howe started to get worried.
GET TO THE GAME All your finals ticketing info
"It just wasn't getting any better – the frustration levels were going through the roof, not only for me but the medical staff as well because we didn't really have any clear answers," Howe told AFL.com.au this week.
"We tried to get it drained multiple times, but it was too thick to come out.
"It was classified as a hematoma, which is a deep cork that got to a stage where it was so deep, the surrounding of the inside got a little bit hard, so the inside had nowhere to go.
"It had to be broken up and sucked out."
The procedure was arthroscopic, which is at the minor end of the surgical scale and left just a small incision.
After enduring nearly three weeks of being unable to move, Howe said the drainage offered instant relief.
"I literally I got the range back within 24 hours," he said.
"Given the circumstances, people were like, 'Why didn't you get it done straight away?'
"You've kind of got to give it every chance to heal naturally and I was stoked we got it done in the end but missing four games wasn't ideal.
"It's good to feel normal again."
Funnily enough, the injury didn't even cause a bruise to brag about.
The bleed was so deep, its only visible sign was unusual thickness in his thigh and some minor discolouration on the back of his leg where it trickled down to his knee.
Howe was concussed shortly after he suffered the thigh complaint but suffered no ill-effects of the friendly-fire collision he had with Darcy Moore.
"They were two separate incidents but the concussion side of it, that was the least of my worries," he said.
"I didn't get any prolonged headaches or anything like that, I kind of forgot about it because my cork was so severe.
"The concussion kind of got parked and I pulled up fine from it."
Howe admitted he needed to blow out some cobwebs early in the Pies' first final against West Coast with some shaky moments where he directed a kick-in straight to Liam Ryan and blasted another out on the full.
But he said it was relief to be back and return to a backline, along with Tyson Goldsack, that has featured somewhat of a revolving door this season.
"It's been our motto throughout the season, that one goes down, another comes in," he said.
"Towards the end of the year, our backs really got injured so we had guys come in – Nathan Murphy, Jack Madgen, Adam Oxley came in, Flynn Appleby debuted, and Sam Murray came in as well.
"We play a systematic brand that if one comes in, they play the same way.
"Clearly you want like for like, but we've been undersized at times, but we've managed to get the job done and this week will be no different."
Despite injuries like those suffered by Lynden Dunn, Matt Scharenberg, Ben Reid, and to an extent Goldsack, exposing the Pies' lack of bulk and height in defence this season, Howe doesn't believe there is a need for wholesale additions to their backline stocks.
The Pies continue to be linked to Gold Coast defender Steven May, despite the Sun being contracted for another season.
Howe said he'd like to see the out-of-contract Moore re-sign after he highlighted his enthusiasm to play alongside the fellow high-flyer at the start of this season.
"I think we've managed our players quite well and managed to defend quite well, so to say that we need further reinforcements, probably not, but if there's blokes there … they might have a look," he said.
"Clearly we'd love [Moore] to hang around because he's going to be an important part of the team going forward so that's a decision for the powers that be.
"He's a great fella, well liked around the group and I love him as a bloke and he's exciting to play with, what he brings to the table each week is great, you'd love to have him out there each week.
"This year it wasn't the case but hopefully next year."
