ON JULY 10 last year, Nathan Foley headed to Craigieburn to train with his teammates, unaware he would leave the northern suburbs ground with a career threatening injury.
The Richmond midfielder was warming up with his teammates, going for a jog with his fellow Tigers like he'd done hundreds of times before.
As the small pack of players accelerated, Foley increased his pace too.
But he didn't get far before he heard a loud snap and felt like someone had shot him in the back of his right leg.
There was a burst of sharp pain and then … nothing. His foot hung limply from his leg, with the severed nerve endings no longer firing.
He knew his achilles had snapped almost straight away. And, after four weeks out with a heel injury, he also knew it was going to be even longer before he'd get to return to a football field.
In a joint production from AFL Media and Richmond FC, Foley has detailed his journey back from an injury that could have easily robbed him permanently of his pace, power and ability to play.
From the operating room to months of being unable to bear weight on his leg, to those first tentative moments where he started to run again, to when he took to the track for the first time and to all the people who helped him along the way, Foley takes you through his recovery and what it means to be finally back playing again.
Nathan Foley: The Long Road Back, a short video documentary, will be published on AFL.com.au and richmondfc.com.au on Wednesday, June 12.
Don't miss it.
Jennifer Phelan is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenPhelan.
