When I went down with injury against the Brisbane Lions last Saturday, the thoughts in my mind were not good.

I can’t imagine there ever being a good time to hear and feel things crack in your right knee and ankle.

But unfortunately my immediate thought was back to 2013, when I needed to have an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction on the same knee.

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That was the toughest year of my career.

It came on the back of a Grand Final loss with Hawthorn in 2012 and in 2013, I was not able to play one game.

Instead, I watched on as a lot of my closest mates won their first AFL premiership with the Hawks.

Hobbling off the ground last week, I had immense pain in my knee.

I started wondering what the rest of this year might look like.

I laid down to get tested and thought to myself: ‘No. Not again. If I’ve done this again I’m grabbing my keys and driving straight home’.

The doctors did the appropriate tests and I was glad to hear my ACL graft was still as strong as ever.

Suckling was helped off the ground by trainers. Photo: Getty

I asked the doctors to test it five times – just so I could rest easily.

At half-time, with the ankle and knee still bothering me, the doctors, coaches and I decided it would be best to sit out the rest of the game.

I would get the necessary scans the following morning.

The toll of injury

Being injured can be quite devastating.

There is the obvious physical side of being injured, but also the mental side.

What I find the hardest is the isolation from the group.

The best part of being involved in a football club is training and playing with all of your mates.

No matter how you’re feeling, the banter and camaraderie of the group will always lift your spirits.

But while you’re in rehab, you spend most of your days alone in the gym, swimming pool or on a bike.

Thankfully, the doctor’s initial thoughts were confirmed with an MRI scan.

It’s most likely that I’ll only miss a month.

Of course that’s not ideal – but it’s much better than my initial thoughts.

Luckily for me, I’m not the only one injured at the moment.

And with some of my good mates also sidelined at the Bulldogs, I’m expecting the weeks to fly by.

Bulldogs captain Robert Murphy will miss the rest of the season with his knee injury. Photo: Getty

There has been much said about the injuries at the Bulldogs at the moment and how we will cope, but there is no doubt that we have the squad to adjust and keep playing well.

The recovery process

The road to recovery can be quite tedious.

My first few nights were spent on the couch with ice packs, indulging in the copious amounts of international sport and very little sleep.

For the first week, everyday activities such as having a shower and getting dressed can be quite a challenge and so frustrating.

Most of my time has been spent on the physiotherapist table or in the ice baths, allowing my body the chance to get rid of swelling and regain full range of movement.

As time progresses, and things improve, I find there is a real thrill and adventure in overcoming an injury.

Each progression you make boosts morale.

Over the next few weeks, I’m looking forward to moving from tiny strengthening exercises and back into running.

Then I’ll commence full training and get back to running around on game day.

Being injured also allows you the time to work on other areas of your body that may need improvement.

With specific training programs mapped out for my time out, there is no reason why, in most cases, players can’t come back in better shape than we left.

Matthew Suckling currently plays for the Western Bulldogs, having crossed from Hawthorn in the off-season. He played 102 matches for the Hawks and won two premierships.