Perspective
Wayne Milera says maintaining perspective has helped him deal with the frustration of spending the past two years in rehab recovering from separate surgeries. The 24-year-old has spent endless hours in the gym rehabbing an injured foot, and then ruptured patella tendon, while his teammates were training outside or playing in front of thousands of fans at Adelaide Oval. While admitting he’s had his down days, the play-making half-back says the support of rehab staff and teammates has helped him stay positive.
Positives
“It’s been pretty challenging not being able to play and spending a lot of time away from the main group,” Milera said. “But a couple of things I’ve learnt over the past two years is you try to look at the positive side of things. “I’m pretty privileged to be playing footy and getting (my) body right, you could be slogging it out with early mornings and working elsewhere, so I’m looking at the positives of where I am.
Rehab
“There’s been a few boys in rehab this year, Hingey (Mitch Hinge), Talsy (Daniel Talia), there was a chunk where Lynchy (Tom Lynch) and Murph (Lachlan Murphy) were there, Matty Crouch was in rehab for most of the year and now we have Jacko Hately and Browny (Luke Brown) in the back half of the year. “So you try to build an energy and Slim (Tim Parham) has been good at that, he tries to keep us up and about. “But you do have your days when someone comes in and they’re pretty flat, and you let them go and they’ll come back another day and be a bit more upbeat, but that’s part of rehab and it’s just about being as positive as you can.”
Running again
Milera’s 2020 season lasted just two games when he was struck down with a stress fracture in his foot and his 2021 season ended in a trial game against Port Adelaide at Alberton in February, when he seriously injured his knee. Earlier this month, he reached a significant milestone in his recovery from patella surgery when he started running on grass at West Lakes. “I started running on the Alter-G and built up slowly for three weeks then went out on ground. The first couple of sessions were a bit awkward and a bit funny because I hadn’t run for five months,” he said. “But now it’s starting to feel a bit more natural and I’m getting used to it again.
Milestones
“After five months of pretty much being up in the gym and not seeing any sun or outside environment at all, to get outside and run was a big milestone for me. “Although on the day I may not have seen it as a big milestone, to be back running I’m pretty happy about it. “From my first running session to my most recent one I’ve already seen improvement and that’s in six or seven sessions.”
Progress
Having started straight-line running, Milera says the next step in his recovery will be increasing his jumping and landing. “I’ve definitely gotten stronger, there’s still a bit more work to do with my leg but that will come with more time in the gym,” he said. “It was three months of not doing anything at the start so it faded away pretty quick and I lost quite a bit of muscle and strength. “It will take a bit of time to build up but physically I’m feeling pretty good, now it’s landing and getting a bit of confidence in my knee.
Balance
“I’ll get a little break in soon, I’ll go away with my partner and baby to get some sun and then I’m pretty much back in here (the Club). “I think it’s important to get it right rather than come back and be back where I was, it’s only a few months until the boys get back so if I can get that training under my belt hopefully I’ll be right to have a good crack after Christmas. “It’s a bit of a tough injury because it’s pretty rare and even the surgeon has said we will have to see how it goes, but they’ve said before Christmas I’ll build my running then after Christmas look to fully come back in and rehab will be pretty well done.”
Spectating
The lengthy lay-off from playing has forced Milera to become a spectator - and he says he’s encouraged by what he’s seen from the Crows’ team this season. “It’s frustrating but I love footy so I do ride the games a little bit,” he said. “There’s been a couple of good games where I’ve been out of my chair and supporting the team like I was a fan, but it is frustrating, especially two years now not being able to play. “But I hope it’s all behind me and I can attack it.
Hope and excitement
“The team played some really good footy this year, we’ve had patches of inconsistency which is going to happen with a young group, but I’m pretty excited about where the group is going. “Off the back of last year I think we’ve improved again so we’ll see how we go next year.”
