SYDNEY defender Alex Johnson will make his long-awaited comeback on Saturday, after recovering from a fifth knee reconstruction which has prevented him playing a senior game for 1736 days.
Johnson, 25, last played an AFL match in Sydney's 2012 grand final win over Hawthorn, which was the 45th match of a senior career which started in 2011.
He played in a couple of pre-season games in 2013 and briefly in a NEAFL match in 2014, and will make his comeback in a NEAFL clash with Canberra Demons in Canberra on Saturday.
Some of the Swans playing in Friday's game against Melbourne at the MCG plan to rush to Canberra to see their much-admired teammate's return to action.
Johnson's terrible run started when he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in the 2013 pre-season competition.
He has endured 12 operations and a rare infection, but the Swans have stuck with him throughout his ordeals.
"It is just something within me that I have been able to keep positive and keep everything in perspective," Johnson said.
"There are a lot of people a lot worse off than me in the world and I have still had a really good job over the last few years, where I come to work with really good people and keep fit for a living.
"I have always had that goal of returning to the field and that is what I want to achieve."
Swans' coach John Longmire considers Johnson's story, which revolves around him being the first player to try to return to the AFL after five knee reconstructions, as one of the most inspiring in the game.
"I haven't seen anything quite like Alex's journey – he's had five knee reconstructions and some pretty down times," Longmire said.
"Sitting down with him and seeing him a couple of times with the infections he's had in his knee, and what that's done to him not only in a football sense but more in a human sense, has been really heartbreaking, but also inspiring in the way he's been able to deal with it.
"His mental resilience is as strong as I've ever seen and his ability to put the setbacks to one side and keep concentrating on the future has been at an incredibly high level."
On Saturday Johnson, who played in the No.34 guernsey, will for the first time wear No.2, which was previously worn by Rhyce Shaw, now the Swans' NEAFL coach.
Alex Johnson: a career timeline
2011
Taken with pick No.57 in the 2010 NAB AFL Draft, Johnson made his debut against West Coast at Domain Stadium in round three. He went on to play 20 games, including both of the Swans' finals.
2012
Johnson's breakout season came when he played all 25 games for the year in defence, and played a starring role in the Swans' premiership as a 20-year-old. The 2012 Grand Final is still the last senior game he has played.
Alex Johnson celebrates with Dan Hannebery after the 2012 Grand Final. Picture: AFL Photos
2013
March: Johnson tears the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the first term of the Swans' third pre-season clash against Gold Coast at Blacktown, and days later undergoes a traditional reconstruction.
July: Scans reveal a second reconstruction is needed after the graft from his first bout of surgery in March failed to hold.
August: Johnson decides to opt for a hybrid LARS operation in a bid to get back in time for the 2014 season.
2014
February: Johnson completes his first full training session since his initial injury, and spends time on superstar recruit Lance Franklin in match simulation drills.
March: Just over a week after his 22nd birthday, the luckless Swan ruptures the ACL in his left knee. The incident occurs in a marking contest just 10 minutes into his first proper game back, in the reserves against GWS at Spotless Stadium as the curtain-raiser to the AFL's season opener.
July: After being forced to beat an infection in his knee and wait for inflammation to subside, Johnson finally undergoes his second bout of LARS surgery.
September: Unable to beat another persistent infection, surgeons are forced to remove Johnson's second LARS graft.
2015
January: Johnson is ruled out for the season.
October: In a show of faith by the Swans, Johnson is re-signed by the club for the 2016 season on a one-year contract, despite still waiting to have his fourth reconstruction.
November: Johnson goes under the knife again to have his fourth reconstruction, another hybrid LARS procedure.
December: Less than a month after his surgery, Johnson is rushed to hospital to fight another infection in his knee, which results in the graft being removed for a second time.
2016
June: After months of complications with more infections, Johnson undergoes his fifth reconstruction, and his 12th knee operation in total.
September: Johnson's hard work pays off when he runs on solid ground for the first time in 906 days at the SCG. The Swans playing group and coaching staff come in on their day off to support him, giving him a standing ovation as he runs laps.
October: Johnson is named best clubman at Sydney's club champion awards and signs another one-year deal with the club.
2017
February: Johnson is placed on the club's long-term injury list but continues to progress on the training track, despite suffering a minor hamstring strain during the pre-season.
April: The defender completes his first contact full training session in over three years at the SCG.
June: Named to play for the club's reserve side against Canberra in the NEAFL, nearly five-and-a-half years after winning the 2012 Grand Final.
