Pop. That was the all too familiar noise emanating from Luke Webster’s knee. It came eight minutes into East Perth’s WAFL Round 3 clash against Perth on Saturday 5 April at Medibank Stadium. It was the fourth time Luke had heard that shocking noise come from one of his knees in his career and straight away he knew he was looking down the barrel of a fourth knee reconstruction, this time to repair a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.

At just 26 years of age, Luke was on the cusp of becoming a knee reconstruction veteran, having already undergone one previous reconstruction on his right knee and two on his left. But instead of heading down the tried and tested path of reconstruction surgery, Luke headed down the path less travelled – Ligament Augmentation Replacement Surgery (LARS) – in a bid to continue his career and return to the field much sooner than what reconstructive surgery allowed.

LARS involves using an industrial strength polyester ligament as a replacement to the ruptured natural ligament. It is a surgery that has so far been seldom performed, but one that offers a rapid recovery and rehabilitation time. For Luke, having missed nearly three years of football through his previous three reconstructions, this was a big drawcard.

Luke said he knew nearly straight away following the ‘pop’ that he was in trouble and immediately thought the worst.

“The first thing that went through my head was, ‘get up and run you’ll be alright.’ But once I got up and tried to run I knew it was no good. I was pretty disappointed and shattered,” Luke said.

“A lot of things go through your mind like ‘well that’s it. Do I have to retire now?’ There were definitely a few things running through my head, particularly thoughts like it was the end of my career, especially my AFL career considering I could have been out for 10-12 months.

“But luckily enough there are some new surgeries around.

“I wanted to try something different because I’ve had two (reconstructions) on my left knee before involving my hamstring and the patella and they both didn’t work so I had to look for another alternative.”

After discussions with Fremantle medical staff in the days following his injury, Luke went ahead with the surgery. Nine weeks later he has no regrets about going down the unfamiliar path. He spent just two days in hospital and was forced to rely on crutches for just two weeks instead of the usual 4-6 that accompany knee reconstruction surgery.

His return to training has also been comparatively rapid. Four and a half weeks after coming off the operating table Luke was back on the treadmill at the club, all be it with a harness taking 80 per cent of his body weight as he reacquainted himself with his running stride. As the following fortnight passed the harness’s assistance was gradually reduced until Luke took one of the biggest steps in his recovery – running unsupported around Fremantle Oval just six weeks after surgery.

Leading into Round 12 of the home and away season Luke is just two weeks away from making a remarkable return to the field. This is a reality that initially was a luxury Luke would not afford himself, but is now one the resilient utility has embraced as he looks to adding to his 33 game career with Fremantle.

“I’m really excited about getting myself back to being 100 per cent so I can throw my hat in the ring for selection as soon as possible,” he said.