He’s not quite out of the woods yet, but St Kilda key defender Hugh Goddard has navigated through the worst of it by trying to maintain a positive mindset while he recovers from a ruptured Achilles tendon.
The 21-year-old suffered the season ending injury in his first and only appearance of 2016 when his Achilles gave way after he changed direction on a half-back flank at Adelaide Oval.
Goddard admits it was a bitter pill to swallow in just his second season at Linen House Centre, but he has dealt with the unfortunate setback by accepting the reality and moving forward to what lies ahead.
“Early on it was difficult but I’ve tried to keep a pretty positive mindset from the get-go; I’ve had a lot of great support from everyone around me,” Goddard told saints.com.au.
“I’ve just accepted it for what it is and I’m doing everything I can to get back. I’m really optimistic about this year and looking forward to getting back out there.”
Light at the end of the tunnel for Goddard
As Goddard slowly but surely integrates back into training, the backman is cutting a more streamlined frame, having shed seven kilograms during his time away from the main group.
The 196cm defender lost close to two kilograms in his leg with his muscles deteriorating during the early stage of his injury, but he has since regained the lost weight while trimming away the excess to help take stress off his foot and help allow him to cover the ground more easily.
“As soon as it happened, I was tipping over triple figures; for the role I was playing that’s where I needed to be,” Goddard said.
“I think the games changing a lot and I guess you see a few players dropping a few kegs, but that was something I needed to do and I dropped just over seven kegs.
“That was something the physios really wanted me to do, to come back with my running and take a bit of pressure off the Achilles.
“Now that I’m back fully into it I can start putting a bit more weight on. The games changed and I’ve been trying to use the year to lose a bit of that puppy fat and try and turn it into lean muscle, so I’m hoping that works out for me this year.”
