Max Gawn has opened up about his initial thoughts after suffering a knee injury during Round 2's loss to Brisbane, admitting that he feared he had suffered an ACL injury.
Gawn left the ground after suffering the injury on Friday night, and while a sprained MCL was confirmed the following day, the ruckman said to media on Monday that the original prognosis was unclear.
"The word 'ACL' had been floated around, so for someone who's done two and the people in the rooms couldn't tell me if I had or hadn't done it in terms of how my knee was presenting - the worst-case scenario does go (through) your mind," Gawn said on Monday.
"I'm 31, I'm sort-of getting towards the twilight and to do a third knee would have been pretty devastating for my own career.
"I was quite upset for a bit ... the vulnerability to cry, I had a little tear in the changeroom.
"It was a big moment that got put on me in round two, at a time when you're not expecting that news."
Melbourne have placed Gawn's return from the strain at about four weeks, a far better result than a season-ending ACL injury. Despite the prognosis, the Demons skipper is remaining bullish about his return to the field.
"I did get some really good news in terms of scans, but how we interpret those scans ... is still to come," Gawn said.
"I'm pretty bullish about a return date."
The Demons head into Round 3 with a 1-1 record, currently sitting eighth on the ladder. With matches against Sydney and West Coast to come to round out the opening month of the season, Melbourne will be forced to do it without their captain, though Gawn is confident new recruit Brodie Grundy can step up.
"We needed him on Friday night, that's for sure ... when I went down in the first five minutes it was always going to be a daunting task," Gawn said.
"He did a tremendous job. Who knows how long I'm out for - I still don't know, I haven't been into the club yet."
