JARED POLEC will play two NAB Challenge games in February and will be available for selection – at this stage – come Round 1.
That’s the good news to come out of the 23-year-old’s latest visit to his surgeon following a 2015 season destroyed by a navicular bone injury.
Polec injured the bone early in the season and didn’t play a game after the Power’s Round 5 victory over the Adelaide Crows.
Choosing to let the bone heal naturally instead of opting for potentially career-ending surgery, Polec flew to Sydney on Friday to be told the bone had completely healed over.
While he will need to monitor ‘loading’ on the bone throughout the year, the versatile midfielder is looking forward to getting back on track.
“The navicular bone is completely healed,” Polec said on Monday.
“I can’t go over a certain amount of distance [and] there is a chance it can go again, but at the moment it’s looking pretty strong.
“I can attack the season as-is.”
Polec’s gradual reintroduction to the playing field came through steady increases in his training load through the back end of 2015.
He has participated in the Power’s full field training since the New Year and is now pain-free.
“There were stages where it got sore throughout the rehab,” Polec said.
“It was around the 200-day mark of the recovery where there was a bit of pain starting to come, but that was just new loadings and stuff like that.
“It’s starting to feel pretty good now.”
Despite the sensitive rehabilitation, Polec will steel himself for the beginning of the pre-season when the Power plays its main internal trial game on Friday 12 February at Alberton.
He will then take the field against the Sydney Swans in Blacktown and Melbourne at Elizabeth on the following two Saturdays.
Polec will miss the Power’s final NAB Challenge game against Richmond on 10 March.
“Game-fitness wise, I’m ready, so now we have the chance to pull it back and really monitor it from now on. When games come along I’ll be fine,” he said.
“It’s good to kick a footy, and the boys are looking pretty good and I’m looking forward to it.”
Port Adelaide’s first game of the 2016 AFL Premiership Season is against St Kilda at the Adelaide Oval on Easter Sunday 27 March.
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