Kelvin Moore ready to return after six surgeries by: Matt Windley
From: Herald Sun
January 10, 2012 ANYONE remember the name Kelvin Moore?
He's about 190cm with strawberry-blond hair. Any bells?
Richmond fans would struggle to put a face to the name, let alone footy fans in general. He missed all of 2011 with injury.
Here's a reminder.
Fifth in Richmond's best-and-fairest in 2008, Moore was elevated to the Tigers leadership group in 2009 and developed in to one of the club's most reliable key defenders before a hip complaint struck in 2010.
Six surgeries later - the most recent on December 22 to have screws removed from the right side of his hip - the 27-year-old is sick of rehab and itching to get back on to the track.
"I think they (opponents and fans) will need reminding. I'm going to be like the mature-aged rookie," Moore said with a laugh. "It's funny how you get forgotten quickly, but I think that's just the nature of the game."
Moore's third, and most serious surgery, was an osteotomy about 4 1/2 months ago. His hip socket was cut out and rotated in order to provide more coverage over the head of the femur (thigh bone), and then pinned with 18-20cm screws.
"I was told it wasn't 100 per cent I would ever play again, which is pretty hard to take," the 84-gamer said.
"All of a sudden football could be taken away from you all together and it's something you've grown up loving and have been playing in the AFL for coming up to my 10th season. I don't know any different.
"When it is taken away from you it's pretty hard to swallow, but ... there's many more people out there less fortunate than me."
AT the worst, Moore found it hard to walk up stairs. Now he is a matter of weeks from running.
But the former Healesville local said he was reluctant to aim for a return date.
"I haven't started running yet. I'll do a bit of skipping and a bit of jogging in the next week or two," Moore said. "And then, because I've missed so much, it will extend the rehab period.
"If I can be back around Round 1 doing some really good training or maybe even playing VFL then I'd be pretty happy.
"I've had nearly 18 months off now, what's the point in rushing back and trying to get ahead of schedule by a week or two rather than get back and be strong ... so I can actually play the season out'."
He admitted he would "probably need hip replacements way down the track".
But he said that, should he achieve his burning ambition of being a part of a sustained period of Tigers success, his tribulations will be worthwhile.
"Richmond have been fantastic," he said. "They said: 'You go away, get yourself right and do what you have to do to be ready for 2012'.
"I'm not sure I would have gone through all this if I didn't think Richmond were heading in the right direction, because you can't just keep having surgery.
"But we've got one of the best coaching groups now and the players are really developing so ... in the next three, four, five years they're going to be right up there."
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/kelvin-moore-ready-to-return-after-six-surgeries/story-e6frf9jf-1226240230782
