Patton will miss the rest of this season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee against St Kilda in round three, but is full of confidence he’ll come back stronger than ever for the GIANTS next year.
Patton, the 2011 number one draft pick, says he’s already looking forward to returning to training with the GIANTS later this year.
“The surgeons have said I’m pretty much out for this whole year ahead and should be able to do the full pre-season,” said Patton.
“It’ll be non-contact for the first bit and then I should be right to go for round one next year which makes me feel good that I can do a full pre-season and then show what I can do next year.
“I’m fully confident in the doctor and the physio team that I’ll be back better than ever,” he said.
Looking back on the second quarter injury at Star Track Oval Canberra, the 19 year old says he first thought he’d hurt his ankle rather than his knee.
“When I was walking off I thought it was just a bit of a rolled ankle and my knee just jarred.
“I could sort of walk around in the rooms so I didn’t think it would be anything bad but then there were a few tests that the doctor and physio did and it didn’t look too good, so we found out then that it could be an ACL and it all came to me then.
Following the injury, messages of support have inundated Patton. Former Australian cricket captain and GIANTS mentor Steve Waugh sent a message of support from India, while GIANTS fans and the rest of the AFL community have also been quick to reach out to show their support.
“Justin Leppitsch from the Brisbane Lions 3-peat Premiership team gave me a call a few days ago.
“(Fremantle player) Anthony Moribito has sent me a text and Hayden Skipworth from Essendon has given me a call because he did his ACL at a young age as well so there’s been a lot of support and text messages that has been really nice.
“It means a lot that the fans care so much. It’s pretty shattering for myself but it feels good that the fans really care and they feel for you so thanks a lot to the fans out there.”
Having played 10 games for the GIANTS, Patton is taking confidence from some of his team mates who’ve overcome the same injury.
“It’ll take me a little while to get it back having been out for such a long time but I’ll be back and I’ll be fine,” said Patton.
“We’ve had a few boys that have done their ACL’s at the GIANTS already and they’ve been fine. Setanta (O’hAilpin) is moving really well and Kurt Aylett you wouldn’t even know he’s done an ACL.”
