But Greenwood has told kangaroos.com.au that it’s not nearly as bad as first thought.
“We’ve found out that it was just scar tissue damage. When I was in the moon boot (cam-walker) during recovery, we wanted scar tissue to build up around the ankle joint and I’ve just stretched that scar tissue so there’s no structural damage or ligament damage. Hopefully I should be right this weekend or next weekend.”
Greenwood sustained a severe high ankle sprain in the club’s NAB Cup pre-season match in Geelong and has been in rehab ever since. With North Melbourne struggling in the AFL, his return via the VFL offered a great deal of hope but this latest incident sparked fear he would be out for several more weeks.
Everything was going to plan playing for Werribee on Saturday night until an innocuous incident brought about a premature end to his game.
“Someone just fell across my ankle again when I was on the ground and I heard it crack a little bit so I thought I’d done it again. It hurt more than it did the first time…I wasn’t sure what I’d done but I was pretty sure I’d done it again,” Greenwood recalled.
“I just thought straight away, ‘I’m pretty annoyed at this’ being my first game back. To be out for another eight or ten weeks would be pretty disappointing. I was pretty shattered really.”
The next morning the gutsy midfielder was surprised to have been able to get out of bed unaided.
“I was pretty happy with it. I could actually walk on it the next day. It was just the initial pain I got was pretty brutal.”
From potentially looking at another long stint in the rehabilitation group to standing on the boundary at Aegis Park on Tuesday about to run some laps and do skills training, Greenwood has had a rollercoaster ride in the last few days.
“Before the game you kind of think, ‘I’ll just take it easy’ but then the ball comes near you and then you get tunnel vision and just go for it. I tried not to get myself in a position where I’d hurt myself but that’s footy and I don’t think you’re ever out of danger. I just did what I normally do and threw myself around a bit.”
Looking back on the game itself, Greenwood was pleased with his output.
“I felt good. I didn’t get a whole lot of the ball but my legs felt good. I was wearing a GPS and I think my numbers were pretty good as well. I was trying to get a lot of run up and down the wing and a lot of top end efforts which I got. I actually recovered pretty well in my legs and ended up playing 60 or 70 percent and got a lot of game time in so it was good that it (the injury) happened in the last quarter.”
Whether he plays this weekend or the next, he says it’s all about helping the team in the long run.
“I just want to be fit enough. I don’t want to come into the side and hamper the team or be at risk of getting injured again. I just want to get enough games under my belt to be able to enhance the team.”
