There were times last season when Gold Coast midfielder Michael Rischitelli thought his AFL career could be over.
Rischitelli was suffering from hamstring tendonitis that severely limited his ability to run quickly.
For much of 2012 and all of 2013 he was playing well below 100 per cent.
He was 27, out-of-contract, struggling to get a kick and watching as youngsters like Jaeger O'Meara, Dion Prestia and David Swallow soared to new levels.
"The longer it went on, definitely the thought was there (of his career ending)," Rischitelli said.
"I didn't really tell too many people about it. I knew deep down you had to try and be positive with stuff like this. I had to try and see the light at the end of the tunnel, as little light as there was."
SUNS coach Guy McKenna has always been one of Rischitelli's biggest supporters, and the vice-captain has paid him back in spades so far in 2014, averaging 21 disposals a game and getting back to his hard, two-way running best.
Rischitelli said there were long periods of frustration, just not knowing how to treat the injury, and then seeing no improvement when he did.
Gold Coast high performance manager Stephen Schwerdt said Rischitelli made huge strides in recovery during the eight-week off-season at the end of 2013.
"When a lot of guys were on holidays, Rischa was training … so that the start of pre-season he was up and going," Schwerdt said.
"The main difference is he could run at high speed again.
"The game's pretty ruthless. If you're a little bit off your best it'll expose you.
"That's the difficulty Michael had - his competitive instincts wanted him to do stuff his body couldn't allow him to do last year and the year before."
Rischitelli said it was adherence to a series of strengthening exercises that eventually got him over the line for an injury no medical expert could ever put a timeframe on.
"It's the realisation that there's nothing in the way that restricts me," he said.
"It's convincing that I can run out games now and get back to the footy I know I can play. It's just reassuring that all the work you put in pays off.
"It's sort of like a fresh start."
And it might continue to get better, according to Schwerdt.
"He's 100 per cent now. He's testing better now than he was prior to the injury because of that work he's done in the off-season."
