Not many AFL footballers have had worse injury runs than St Kilda's Max King, but his gloomy days seem behind him.
King hasn't played in the AFL since Round 16 in 2024 following setback after setback.
"Essentially, there was a meniscus that was a bit loose, and old tear that was clunking in the knee," King said on Channel 7's The Agenda Setters.
"For whatever reason, there was a few other things that they thought they could be, and you obviously don't want it to be that.
"The first two surgeries were no good. You repair it, which you know is probably a 50/50 chance to work, but you take the punt because you want to keep it in.
"It doesn't work, you take it out, and you get on with it. Down the line, you have a bit of knee stuff when you're older… It's the risk that you take to play footy."
King was the fourth player selected in the 2018 National Draft and has shown glimpses of his brilliance when playing a full season. He kicked 52 goals in 2022 and has since played 23 games.
The 26-year-old detailed the mental and physical toll persistent injuries have had, as well as the stress of the unknown, and whether he'd make it back to the big time.
"The sessions when we were still figuring it out ended up being six months of just running straight lines and waiting for it, knowing that one step it's going to clunk and be pretty painful, but not knowing which step, so you just push on," he said.
"It's like you're running until you're running off a cliff, but you don't know when it's coming. Bloody tough physically and mentally, but I'm very happy to be over that now.
"(It was most difficult) after the second surgery, when you build back up again for a few weeks, and the same thing happens.
"You feel a bit helpless and unsure of the direction. It gets a bit trickier when you're floating in no-man's land, not sure what the next play is."
Adding to the mental battles is the scrutiny of signing a monster contract to the end of the 2032 season (in 2024), which is understood to be worth $1.5 million per year. King hasn't played a game since he put pen to paper on the deal.
"There's definitely times where you wrestle with, 'I'm on a big contract, and I want to be paying the club back and playing,' but I don't think that's helpful to go down that rabbit hole," he said.
"I'm doing everything I can to get back as soon as I can and play good footy. That's all I can do, really.
"At some points, I have thought that, but it's just not a space I want to live in. I feel the support from inside the club, and that's what matters to me.
"I feel like if I can get myself right and put together some good footy, it will be worth it for the club. That's what I'm invested in."
King is aiming to return to football this year, despite the season heading into its final seven games.
He briefly played in the VFL but suffered a hamstring injury and is now undergoing a block of conditioning in preparation for a senior recall.
