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In February, 2008, Malceski became the first AFL player to have LARS, after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a pre-season game.
Malceski returned to the field in just 12 weeks and his successful comeback was a factor in Rodan's decision to have the revolutionary procedure when he tore his ACL at training in December, 2009.
Rodan enjoyed an equally good return, playing the last 19 games of the season, but was forced to go back under the knife in November when scans revealed the synthetic ligament in his knee had frayed.
Convinced his setback was a result of sheer bad luck, the 27-year-old opted to have another LARS reconstruction.
However, the long-term viability of LARS came back into question last week, with the news Malceski would also require a second reconstruction after re-injuring his knee at training.
Rodan was among Port Adelaide's better players in his second comeback against Geelong at AAMI Stadium on Friday night and is on track to play in the club's season opener, but said the prospect of another ligament failure had crossed his mind.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't have any concerns, but these things you can't really help. It doesn't matter whether you have the traditional [reconstruction] or the LARS, there's no guarantee on either one of them," Rodan said on Monday.
"It's very unfortunate and I've expressed my sorrows to Nick. I gave him a phone call to see if everything was fine. Obviously he's a little bit upset at the moment...but I've got no doubt he'll be back bigger and stronger than ever just like he was after the first one."
Power forward Brett Ebert and Swans defender Campbell Heath also had LARS surgery to repair ruptured ACLs based on Rodan and Malceski's early success.
Rodan said there was no way of knowing whether either or both players would require another operation to replace the ligament during the course of their careers.
"Nick had been going three or three-and-a-half years until he did it [re-injured his knee], so he's gone really well up until now," Rodan said.
"You can't really predict these things. It's unfortunate, but we'll just have to see what unfolds."
Rodan, who had a traditional reconstruction on his other (right) knee during his time at Richmond, said he didn't regret having LARS and that he would continue to recommend it for players at the latter stages of their careers.
"I'm all for it. I've had pretty positive repercussions from it, but it depends on the history of the player and their make up as well," he said.
"As the years go on and they find out more about it [LARS], it'll get better. Hopefully, this sort of knee injury will [end up being] only a few weeks and we'll get a lot of players back from injury a lot quicker."
Rodan will be part of a near full-strength Port Adelaide team that will travel to Willaston to take on Greater Western Sydney on Saturday, after the AFL denied the Power's request for the game to be shelved.
Power Head to Willaston
The game will give rookie-listed onballer Jarrad Irons another chance to audition for the vacant spot on the senior list, after the club made the decision to put injured ruckman Matthew Lobbe on the long-term injury list.
Jarrad Irons is a $80,400 midfielder in the Toyota AFL Dream Team competition.
