Geelong defender Tom Stewart has revealed he worked with a ballet physiotherapist to help his recovery from a foot injury that kept him out of the Cats’ finals campaign.
Stewart suffered the Lisfranc injury at training before the round 22 game against St Kilda and missed the rest of the season.
He said he had connected with Dr Sue Mayes, who is the principal physiotherapist for The Australian Ballet, to aid in his recovery, ahead of returning to preseason training last week.
“I got hooked up with a lady by the name of Sue Mayes who is a ballet physio and worked at North Melbourne for a lot of years with this particular injury and foot injuries,” he said.
“I really liaised well with her and she has given me massive confidence throughout the rehab process.
“She has been unbelievable for me.”
Stewart conceded he had been anxious getting back onto the track over the last few weeks, but said he felt like he was recovering well.
“I’ve had probably only one session in 50 that I’ve pulled up sore from. So, in terms of my preparation and the way I am feeling I am super confident that I’ve done the work now,” he said.
“I am ready to go, and I am excited by seeing a full preseason and just being back around the group has been fantastic for me and for my mindset.”
Stewart had a strong 2021 season that saw him win his first Carji Greeves Medal and named in the All Australian team.
He said he was excited to be back around teammates and playing football.
“I have just come back with a real sense of enjoyment and spark for football again,” he said.
“I’ve felt like it has been a long process and been quite tough at times being isolated from the group, but I am just ready to come back, have fun and put my best foot forward again.
“It was pretty awesome to win the best and fairest and I am not going to set any limitations on what I can do this season.”
With last week being the official beginning of preseason for the club’s senior players, Stewart said it felt like the “first day of school” with many new faces, including coaches James Kelly, Matthew Egan and Shannon Byrnes.
“They’ve come back with a real sense of excitement, a real sense of purpose and they’ve driven that with the young boys, and now we are ready to get stuck in as a senior group, start the challenge and start to grow and develop a bit more.”
Stewart also said he had been impressed how the club’s younger players had approached the start of their preseason.
“They’ve been in here and they’ve shown they are keen and hungry and that’s really exciting for us,” he said.
“I just think for them they need to understand it may not happen week one, two or three but they will get a chance and we will need to call on some of them at some point or another, and hopefully it’s week one and some boys are saying straight away ‘pick us’ because that’s how we are going to get better.”
However one teammate who won’t be on the track for the beginning of preseason is midfielder Sam Menegola, who underwent knee surgery at the end of October.
Menegola consulted specialists in Perth and surgery to repair his meniscus was considered the best course of action.
“Sam and the medical team were pleased with the outcome post-surgery,” Geelong general manager of football Simon Lloyd said.
“Sam is totally professional in all aspects of his football, and he will tackle the rehabilitation process with gusto. Sam has started his rehab in Perth and will return to Geelong in the new year.”
