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GOLD Coast's Wil Powell has spoken candidly about the gruesome injury that cut his 2022 season short and the subsequent uphill battle he has faced to get fit again.
It was during the second half in the round 14 win over Adelaide when Powell crumbled to the Metricon Stadium turf under the weight of a Ned McHenry tackle.
The result was horrific - a dislocated and fractured right ankle, with ligament damage, that had the 23-year-old's foot pointing at right angles.
Speaking to AFL.com.au, Powell said he went through a range of emotions over the ensuing minutes.
"I remember Touky [Miller] missing his handball and I had to go and fetch it," Powell laughed.
"I kicked it and pretty much sat on my ankle. I heard a pop sound.
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"I didn't feel pain at the start, I just looked at it and was in shock. My ankle was facing the wrong way and then about 10 or 15 seconds after it happened the pain set in, just excruciating, all the way up my leg.
"It almost didn't feel real how sore it was.
"I was lucky enough the doctors came over with the green whistle pretty quick and that subdued everything."
Powell left the field on a medicab as play was halted for more than five minutes, while he was taken to the changerooms.
"I was staring at the thing the whole time," he said.
"I was intrigued. I didn't feel anything when I had the whistle.
"I had (physiotherapist) Lindsay (Bull) on my thigh and (club doctor) Barry (Rigby) on my ankle pretty much playing tug-of-war with my foot and leg trying to put the ankle back into the socket and they couldn't do it.
"It was still dislocated in the ambulance. The fibula was pointing too far to the right and it was trapping the ankle."
Powell underwent surgery the following day to start his long road back.
The West Australian defender is high energy, always buzzing around Suns training, chatting and smiling with teammates, so the prospect of an extended stint where he couldn't move was not appealing.
Powell was in a plaster cast for two weeks that went from just below his knee and extended to cover his foot.
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He was then in a moonboot for another eight weeks – all the while his teammates battled, without success, to qualify for finals for the first time in club history.
"It drove me mad," he said.
"I wasn't in the club for the first four to six weeks, I was just sitting at home on the couch like a potato.
"I broke down a few times. The girlfriend had to listen to me complain a few times. Lucky I had some good support around me, my girlfriend and mum and dad came over (from WA) to look after me.
"You have to find a way to be a competitor with yourself, to try and better yourself week on week.
"It was going on for four or five months and you get sick of rehab by yourself.
"You have a little checklist you're waiting to tick off.
"Four good weeks in the gym, six good weeks. It does wonders for you mentally."
Powell has been training strongly over the pre-season and will be fully integrated with the main group after the Christmas break.
Aside from learning to be patient in his rehab, Powell said there had been one silver lining with his surgically repaired ankle that contained a 15cm plate and six screws.
"I've got a bit of a golf club now, they're coming off five to 10m extra," he laughed.
"It's like a big driver. They're coming off sweet at the moment, especially with the extra tape on now!"
