Tiger King ready and roaring despite off-season painBy Jennifer Witham
afl.com.au
Thursday, December 13, 2012RICHMOND livewire Jake King has his sights set on the round one clash against Carlton after making better than expected progress from five post-season operations.
King, 28, started running this week a month ahead of schedule after an off-season spent mending a variety of ailments.
He said he was keen to play a part in the Tigers' NAB Cup campaign, which starts on February 22 against Melbourne and North Melbourne, and then press for the March 28 clash with the Blues.
"I'm hoping to play a few of the NAB Cup games and get my fitness up and get ready for round one," King told AFL.com.au.
"That's providing everything goes well and there's no setbacks, but I should get a couple of games there."
King broke his right foot in round 21 against Fremantle, and while he finished the game, he was booked in for surgery to insert pins two days later.
While he was in hospital, he had the thumb he broke and ligaments he severed against the Sydney Swans in round seven fixed.
He left the hospital with his foot in a moon boot and his left hand in plaster – and there was still more to come.
Two weeks later, he had the posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee - that he damaged in round two against Collingwood - mended, and had an adductor release procedure on the left side of his groin.
That isn't to mention the wrist he broke against Port Adelaide in round six and the cheekbone he fractured in round 12 against Greater Western Sydney, which had been left to heal naturally but was still in the rehabilitation process.
While that course of action gave him a break from the operating theatre, his ordeal wasn't over yet.
Just when he thought his bad luck had run out, he had to go back into hospital in mid-October for more surgery on his foot to remove the screws – and bone – after the injury had failed to knit together.
"It was a horrible six weeks," he said.
"But now, everything has actually healed pretty well and the only thing that we have to watch is my knee.
"I ran on Wednesday and I've been running on the AlterG [anti-gravity] treadmill, and I got out of that and got to run on the track. It's about a month ahead of schedule.
"I'm still in ice after every session we do but everything is going well and I've got no complaints at all.
"I hope the karma just came for that one year and that's enough. I'll make sure I start doing all the right things now."
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2012-12-13/king-
