ST KILDA defender Sam Fisher will start pre-season on time and is confident his latest round of toe surgery will enable him to move freer than he has in years.
The 31-year-old has a degenerative toe joint – the main one between his left big toe and foot – that has plagued him for a number of years and deteriorated this year to the point where he had to do something.
He had a second operation on the joint in less than 12 months after playing his last game in round 10, with the pain the "worst it has been" this season.
Fisher will lose the sandal-like moon boot he has worn since the operation next week and has his eyes set on starting pre-season training when his teammates do.
"I'll be there day one – actually, I'll probably be starting a bit earlier because I've missed a bit," Fisher told AFL.com.au.
"I'll be ready to go on day one of the pre-season and it'll be good because I haven't done it for the last year or two.
"Last year, I had a delayed start but this year I'll be right on time."
Fisher knew things were bad after the Saints' pre-season game against Greater Western Sydney on March 16 at Blacktown.
He had to come off half-way through the game and ended up missing round one two weeks later.
"From there, it was pretty sore for a few weeks," he said.
"Then I dealt with it for a period of time throughout the season and when it came to the crunch of it, I decided to go under and get something done to fix it up."
Last year, Fisher's season ended with two rounds to go because of the toe, and he had a similar "clean out" procedure to the one he recently had.
This time, he hopes the difference in the result will enable him to train fully and play out games – although he has conceded it is likely to never be as strong as his other foot.
"Hopefully I'll be able to run around freer, not only in games but in training sessions too because when you're injured like that, it's hard to get through the week," he said.
"I've had it for four or five years but it's gradually got worse and worse, and we decided to have an operation on it to help it next year.
"It should be better. I don't think it will ever be 100 per cent – once you've injured something they rarely tend to get back to 100 per cent.
"But it's going to have no effect on me in terms of body and fitness and the way I move. In terms of being 100 per cent, I'll be 100 per cent once I get rid of the boot."
Fisher will walk for the first time without the boot next week and hopes to progress to running soon after that.
He has also recently been joined by a number of Saints that are nursing end of season injuries.
Rhys Stanley (collarbone), Arryn Siposs (shoulder) and Tom Simpkin (lower leg) had surgery this week while Terry Milera (ankle), Spencer White (wrist) and Jackson Ferguson (calf) are also done for the year.
With James Gwilt's knee keeping him out of the team since round 18, the Saints' backline has been undermanned and the team overall light on for experience.
Fisher has kept his presence at the club during his layoff to help mentor the younger players, and dipped his toe in coaching last Saturday night when he sat in the coaches' box for the Brisbane Lions game.
"I've still been hanging around the club and trying to get around the young fellas to try and help develop them," he said.
"We're pretty young out on the field at the moment so I'm just trying to help the team."
Jennifer Phelan is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenPhelan.
