MELBOURNE forward Russell Robertson is optimistic he will overcome a serious achilles injury in time to play in the 2009 NAB Cup.
 
Robertson was sidelined for the remainder of last season when he ruptured his achilles against St Kilda in round 10, but the veteran Demon is hopeful of being ready to play in February next year.

“I'm still very much here and I'm on the road to recovery. I've been jogging and would love to do a lot more, but they're holding me back,” Robertson told melbournefc.com.au as part of an exclusive two-part series.

"Over the next two months, I'm going to be going through a lot of stress and duress with it, but in terms of strength the achilles is really strong.”

Time out from the game has made the noted high-flyer even keener to contribute to the Demons’ renaissance in 2009, declaring himself  “99.9 per cent sure” of being ready to go in the pre-season.

Despite the severity of the injury, Robertson said he was still able to find positives in what has been a frustrating period of his career.

"When I ruptured my achilles, the physios and doctors said: 'It sounds ridiculous, but it's probably a good time to do it'. We were at the bottom of the ladder, we weren't going to be playing finals and it was a six-month injury. They said: 'You're not going to miss next year'. So that was a positive in a really dismal time. It was a really appalling time for me.

Robertson remains realistic about his comeback, saying patience is tantamount in what will be a lengthy recovery.

"I still have a fair bit of pain, but that's purely and simply from running again.

“The legs haven't been doing anything for five months and they've been lying dormant. The achilles is like rope and it needs to be made supple again.

“That's a process and that takes time. It's going to take a good seven months, [to recover] from the actual rupture."
 
Click here to read the full interview.