The last time Alex Johnston stepped out onto an AFL oval was in front of a 100,000 strong crowd at the MCG when Sydney Swans won the Grand Final in 2012.
After 1736 days on the sidelines, Johnston will line up for the Swans in Saturdays NEAFL clash with the Canberra Demons at Manuka oval.
Johnston ruptured his ACL in the 2013 pre-season competition, five months after winning the 2012 premiership, and reoccurring injuries have prevented him from stepping back on the field for a match since.
The 25-year-old has overcome five knee reconstructions, 12 operations, a rare infection and a mayrid setbacks making it four years, nine months and two days since his last game.
The much loved teammate has demonstrated incredible resilience and determination to overcome nearly five years of injury.
โIt is just something within me that I have been able to keep positive and keep everything in perspective,โ Johnston said in an interview with Fox Footy.
โThere are a lot of people a lot worse off than me in the world and I have still had a really good job over the last few years where I come to work with really good people and keep fit for a living.
โI have always had that goal of returning to the field and that is what I want to achieve.โ
Sydney coach, John Longmire, praisedย Johnston for his journey of "unparalleled resilience".
โI havenโt seen anything quite like Alexโs journey โ heโs had five knee reconstructions and some pretty down times,โ Longmire told Fox Footy.
โSitting down with him and seeing him a couple of times with the infections heโs had in his knee, and what thatโs done to him not only in a football sense but more in a human sense, has been really heartbreaking, but also inspiring in the way heโs been able to deal with it."
Johnston was a Xavier college school boy, selected with a pick 57 in the 2010 draft.
He debuted in Round 3, 2011, cementing his spot in the side, playing in every match in the 2012 premiership year.
