And like clockwork . . . . .
Coughlan nears training return
7:02 PM Wed 8 August, 2007 | Back
By: Greg Lange
for richmondfc.com.au
TIGER fans, get excited. Mark Coughlan will be returning to the Punt Road training track in a couple of weeks. And despite the year he’s had, he could not be happier about beginning his 2008 pre-season so early.
“I guess one of the positives out of doing your knee just before the season starts is you have a full 12 months off,” Coughlan tells richmondfc.com.au.
“So I’ll be able to get a full pre-season in the tank next year.”
Coughlan’s positive outlook is a good sign for the Richmond faithful, who were shattered when their 2003 Jack Dyer medallist re-injured the same knee which ended his season in round 12 last year.
However, if you’d bumped into the talented tiger seven months ago, it’s unlikely you would have found him feeling so cheery.
Coughlan took a couple of months off immediately after injuring his knee. “Being the second year in a row, I just needed a bit of time to get away,” he says.
After returning and embarking on the all-too familiar knee-rehab activities of riding, swimming and leg weights, he found his mood mirrored the health of his knee.
“I was a bit up and down,” he says. “When things are going well you are upbeat and positive, whereas when things are not going well, you are doom and gloom.”
“However, I have had a bit of experience with injuries, so I have learned to handle them better than I used to.”
Over the last month, under the guidance of specialists Warren Kofoed, who helped with Nathan Brown’s injury, and club physio Matthew Hornsby, Coughlan has been boosted by his return to running after a six-month layoff.
“It was good to get that away,” he says. “When you have your first run you feel pretty good again.”
In a couple of weeks time he is set to receive another shot of confidence when he rejoins his teammates for training. Not that this will wipe out the frustration he’s been feeling on the sidelines while the club has endured one of its most testing seasons.
“While you are a part of the group, you are not actually out there playing,” he says.
“All you can do is try and support the guys as much as you can, which is pretty important at the moment.”
TIGER TALK
Mark, what was the most painful part of your knee injury?
When the pain-killers run out. I have had surgery to a couple parts of the body, but in terms of pain after the surgery, the knee is definitely the worst.
Some have joked that your failed attempts at gaining your driver’s license when you were 18 taught you persistence, and this has helped you mentally in your rehab.
Failing your license three times is not something you bring up with your mates. But it’s true, it probably did help in some ways.
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