THERE is never a good time for a footballer to injure his ACL, but when you are seemingly weeks away from earning a permanent promotion to the senior list, the last thing you need is a 12-month spell on the sidelines.

Such is the fate that befell St Kilda’s Jayden Attard, who injured his knee in last year’s round 21 loss to West Coast at Telstra Dome.

Attard had only missed one game for the season after coming off the rookie list days before round one. It seemed just about certain he was in line for a permanent promotion.

As it panned out, he is back on the rookie list waiting for his knee to recover.

But the 22-year-old doesn’t see his injury as a case of poor timing. Instead, he is glad he got the opportunity to show his wares in senior football.

“I look at it the other way around. If I did a full pre-season then did my knee in round one, it would have been a waste,” Attard said.

“At least I got to play the year out and prove I could play at that level. It was frustrating at the time, but looking at it in hindsight I’m pretty happy I did the pre-season and played 20 games.”

Attard is now doing agility training, which is the last step before he can resume one-on-one contest work.

But despite progressing well with his recovery, he is hesitant to predict when he will return to the fray.

“The fitness staff and I have purposely not put a time limit on a return. I have a few weeks of training to get through. Then I’ll sit down with them and work it out from there,” he said.

Attard has no shortage of support as he endeavours to come back from the injury that every footballer fears. Both Brendon Goddard and Lenny Hayes have made successful comebacks from knee injuries in recent years, but Attard says he won’t try to keep up with their speedy returns.

“I was talking to BJ (Goddard) and he was able to get back pretty quickly, but when you start to compare yourself to others, you can get frustrated,” he said.

“It’s good that the club has said ‘you’ll be ready when you’re ready’ and they’ll get me back.”

Attard was rookie listed by the Saints after he was delisted by the Brisbane Lions, where he played five games in two years. He admits he was surprised to be given his marching orders by coach Leigh Matthews.

“I definitely didn’t see it coming. I thought I’d done enough to get another year, but a lot of players at the club were filling the role I was fighting for,” he said.

Attard admits moving to Queensland was tough, and he can’t believe his good fortune at being offered a lifeline by a club based just 20 minutes away from his family home in Chelsea.

“I feel for the guys who are coming from interstate. I know what they’re going through. It is good to have that experience under the belt because you can really relate to the guys that have had to move home,” he said.

“I’m pretty lucky. I was down in the dumps when I got delisted, but when the Saints picked me up it was a dream come true.”

Attard might not know if that opening on the senior list is still available, but is determined to do his best to get it.

“There is definitely competition, but I’ve shown I can do it and look forward to trying to get my spot back."