FIVE years. Four surgeries. Three shoulder reconstructions. Countless hours’ rehabilitation.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
South Warrnambool footballer Tom Clancey will complete a remarkable comeback when he runs out with the Roosters’ senior side for the first time since 2011 on Saturday.
“I won’t set the bar too high. The next couple of years will be where my football career either takes off or goes backwards I would have thought,” he said.
“This year I am just happy to be back on the park. Hopefully the guys makes finals, whether that’s with or without me.”
Clancey, 23, made an ill-fated attempt to return to the field in 2013 before sustaining a season-ending shoulder injury in a practice match.
His most recent surgery was in May last year but he’s since strung together eight games in the Roosters’ reserves.
“I was nervous before my first game back in the twos but I am slowly starting to get a bit more confidence in my body,” Clancey said.
“After five years, it’s taken a bit to get my body going. Each game you get a little more confidence and your mind forgets about it a bit more. Last week we played in shocking conditions and you were slipping over and diving on the ball a bit more.”
Clancey contemplated walking away from football.
But in the end the lure of playing at Friendly Societies’ Park alongside his brother Hugh, who has also had a shoulder reconstruction, was too much.
“As I got closer towards a comeback this time around, because I haven’t been able to do anything with my arm for the last five years, I found I was able to do a few more things and have quality of life a bit more,” he said.
“I had to weigh up the pros and cons.”
Clancey said his long injury layoff was frustrating as he was thorough with his rehabilitation each time. The Deakin University finance student had a cap inserted to help stablise the injury.
“It’s a different one, so it’s come out in a different direction each time,” he said.
“It wore away at the bone in my shoulder so they had to put a metal plate, like a cap, in.”
Clancey, who has helped with the Roosters’ social committee the past three years, said he was excited to play with his brother.
”He’s been the main driver this year to get back,” he said.
“We played reserves two weeks ago and that was cool and pretty special and tomorrow is our first senior game together.”