PORT Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has conceded he doubted ruckman Jarrad Redden would ever play football again.
Redden will make a long-awaited return to the senior side on Saturday night against the Sydney Swans, 679 days after he dislocated his shoulder against the Western Bulldogs in round 10, 2013.
At the time he was considered the club's primary ruckman, ahead of Matthew Lobbe.
His shoulder dislocation started a constant run of injury – he underwent five bouts of shoulder, hip and knee surgery between June and December 2013.
Further surgery was required to fix a complicated knee injury, which ended his 2014 campaign.
Hinkley said there were times he didn't think the 24-year-old would return to the game.
"There was points in the last 12 months that I'm sure Jarrad Redden thought his football career was over ... I didn't know if 'Reddo' was going to play footy again," Hinkley said.
"I thought there was a significant chance he probably wouldn't.
"When you seen his knee and what it was like and not that long ago – back in October last year – it was a significant issue for him.
"Right now I think he's probably pinching himself a little bit."
At 205cm Redden is the tallest player on Port's list and the heaviest by some distance.
His constant presence at the club safeguarded him against becoming unfamiliar with the Power's game plan during his rehabilitation, as did his relatively "simple" role as ruckman.
Hinkley still rated Redden's pure rucking ability as the best at Alberton and said that although significant injury worries had curbed the big man's career, they might have taught him a valuable lesson as well.
"You watch him now, he's in great shape, he just needs a bit of luck – he needed to manage himself a little bit better as well," he said.
"Going through what he's been through might be good for him.
"In all seriousness, Reddo's ruck work is as good as anyone's we have at the club, including 'Lobes'.
"He was first-choice ruck at that point [in 2013] and we were really excited about what his future may have been.
"He's in great shape, he's a big man; he's going to be a real contest for the Sydney Swans to get over."
In the time Redden has been sidelined, Lobbe has emerged as one of the league's best ruckmen.
He averaged 32 hit-outs and almost seven tackles a game last year, shouldering the vast bulk of the ruck responsibility.
A small tear in his quad ruled Lobbe out of last weekend's loss to Fremantle and Hinkley couldn't guarantee he would be fit to face North Melbourne in round three, either.
"On the scan it showed up as a small strain so that's why at the time we thought it might be OK because typically with a thigh, once you can run and get power you're OK," he said.
"But if it's a mid-point (injury) you can cause some more problems when you try and kick.
"I've seen them in my journey and I'm sure 'Burgo' (Darren Burgess) and the medical team have seen them too – that what you think is a one or two-week injury can sometimes get a bit scary.
"We suspect that 'Lobes' will probably be available next week but I'm not prepared to sit here now and say he will."
