Adelaide midfielder Richard Douglas is wearing a cricket box during AFL games to prevent complications to a groin injury that delayed his season.

Douglas had groin surgery after copping a blow in Adelaide’s last pre-season game on March 7 and was initially forecast to be sidelined six weeks.

Lifesaver: Richard Douglas’ most important bit of gear. Photo: playersports.co.nz

But the onballer, wearing a cricket box, returned against Port Adelaide last Saturday.

“I will give Gray Nicolls a little plug here, I used one of their trusted boxes that they use in cricket,” Douglas told reporters on Wednesday.

“It just gave me the peace of mind really that if I got hit there again that it would be fine.

“The surgeon was only concerned if I got another blow there, that it could obviously be quite dangerous.”

I just wore a couple of pairs of jocks and bike shorts and they held me in nice and snug and did the job.

Douglas said he would wear the box for another month.

“I just wore a couple of pairs of jocks and bike shorts and they held me in nice and snug and did the job,” he said.

“It was a bit sweaty, but it was all good.”

Douglas’ teammates subjected him to numerous jokes about his injury.

All these nurses and that come in for a look and there’s plenty of touching and feeling going on and you’re in a bit of pain.

“It has been humorous for them, but probably not so much for me,” he said.

But Adelaide’s 2010 club champion said being in hospital after the injury was “a bit scary”.

“All these nurses and that come in for a look and there’s plenty of touching and feeling going on and you’re in a bit of pain,” he said.

“There was a few days there I wasn’t sure what was happening.

“But I had the best possible surgeon and he explained it really well and put my mind at ease and that was the end of it. I was never going to play if I didn’t feel comfortable.”

AAP