GWS veteran Stephen Coniglio's frustrating run with injuries has reached new heights as he revealed he'd been dealing with a nerve issue.
Coniglio played the first three contests of the 2025 season, but leading into the club's Round 4 clash against West Coast, failed to prove his fitness.
"I woke up like any other morning, preparing to come to captain's run, and I literally couldn't walk," Coniglio said.
"I felt this pain shooting through my leg."
The initial diagnosis was glute and hamstring-related, which had a timeline of a few weeks given it wasn't too severe.
But as the 31-year-old continued to build up his training loads, he found that once reaching 80 per cent of his top running speed, his body was unable to handle the increased pressure, and the pain, through trial and error by the Giants' physios, moved all around his leg.
For the most part, Coniglio has been able to maintain a level of fitness and strength, but has ultimately been sidelined for the past seven weeks, with no return date in sight.
"I wish I could give you one," Congilio said.
"I'm running at least. So I can still keep up a level of fitness. But the problem is that high-end speed. So, overcoming the injury first, then second, will be a block of training where I can be exposed to those speeds again and build up my match fitness.
"I'm running every second day at the moment."
GWS has searched far and wide for answers, which has included Coniglio calling "around the globe" to assist in the pursuit.
"A little bit," Coniglio said is done on the rehab table.
"We've tried a couple of injections, which hadn't seemed to work initially, but we're trying other things at the moment.
"If you find anything, let me know."
Coniglio was adamant that the "frustrating" injury is not a sign of entering the twilight of his career, which has spanned over 14 years.
The former captain of the Giants was sidelined for large chunks in 2024 with a shoulder injury that plagued his season, an issue he says is in the rearview mirror.
"The rest of my body is feeling great," he added.
"I've never had this in my life. I'm over 30 now, and everyone is pointing to maybe it could be that, but I'm feeling 24, 25 after not having played a lot in the last year.
"I'm strong in the weights room...but I'm extremely confident (in returning to my best)."
The Giants' past month of football has produced a series of inconsistent performances, but a stirring win over Carlton with a host of injuries to key players could spur them back into form.
A matchup against Richmond in Round 12 at ENGIE Stadium will see GWS start as heavy favourites, before a clash with Port Adelaide in Canberra to follow.
