PORT ADELAIDE forward Charlie Dixon has described his latest injury setback as “frustrating” and “heartbreaking”, having endured a second round of surgery after extra cartilage was found in his damaged ankle.
Dixon suffered a nasty broken leg and ankle ligament damage after falling awkwardly in a marking contest in the Power’s Round 21 match against West Coast at Adelaide Oval.
He was on track for a return to playing early in the 2019 campaign but was experiencing pain when he was running.
A visit to the surgeon on Tuesday resulted in him having minor surgery to clean out his ankle.
“They made seven different incisions,” Dixon revealed during an interview with Adelaide radio station Triple M.
“They went in there and made sure it was all clean and there was a bit of cartilage that they missed and that was torn so that’s all fixed.
“From now on it’s a bit slow, it’s a slow process as it has been but hopefully I can get some progress and move forward.”
It’s the latest frustrating development for the competitive big man who has played 61 games with Port Adelaide since crossing from Gold Coast after 65 games there at the end of 2015.
The 200-centimetre key forward had shed weight and was tracking well for a return but will now have to be patient, with no date set for his return.
“It’s just frustrating. I’ve never really been in this position. I’ve had times where I’ve been coming back from injury but still been training and playing,” Dixon said.
“It’s weird not knowing when I’ll be right to play and it’s definitely frustrating and someone who is a competitor and I thrive for that sort of stuff, and I’m really missing it at the moment, sitting at home and not really having much else to do.
“It’s frustrating and heartbreaking because I am a footballer, and a competitor and that’s what I want to do and I can’t do what I love.”
Surgeons described it as a “rare case” that they hadn’t seen before and the extra cartilage wasn’t apparent on the scans.
“I was tracking along ok, then had some pain so took a step back and then tried again and it was the same,” Dixon explained.
“We’re not going to rush it, we’ll just take it day by day and it’s just getting the load back into the body and into the leg, and getting some footy back under my belt.
“I’m going to just wait until I’m pain free and get back into it but I’ll keep doing my gym.”
With limited mobility at the moment, and not much training on the cards, working on his cars has kept Dixon occupied at times.
To help with the frustration of not playing, Dixon has spent time this week back home with family in Cairns.
“They’ve sent me home to spend some time with my family instead of sitting around by myself,” he said.
“So I’ll just take it day by day, week by week and hopefully I can see some progress.”
