Brisbane Lions midfielder Allen Christensen has been unable to escape the injury bug since his AFL debut in 2011.
Christensen, who started his AFL career with Geelong before being traded to the Lions in 2014, has spent long stints on the sidelines with numerous injuries, including a broken collarbone in 2016 that forced him out of the game for 18 months.
Christensen spoke on SEN Afternoons about how helping the Lions' AFL and NEAFL coaches during his rehab stints helped him stay connected to football and saved him from ‘disappearing’ from the game.
SEN Afternoons with Andy Maher can be heard Monday-Friday 12-3pm, and you can subscribe to the podcast here.
“If I didn’t have that, I don’t know what I would’ve done," Christensen said.
“I could’ve just done my work and disappeared into the wilderness.
“That’s where I think a lot of the mental issues (in football) come in if you have nothing, so the coaching side kept me connected to the club.”
Christensen, who has played every game so far this season, had to face the mental demons that many experience when going through the rehab process, and led him to question whether he still had an AFL career ahead of him.
“There were definitely times where I was thinking, I don’t know if I can do this (play AFL) anymore,” said Christensen.
“I was thinking ‘is this going to hold up to the rigours of AFL footy?
“But thankfully, I had a strong rehab team and Sel Griffith, our rehab guy, he’s one of my closest friends now.
“He made sure I kept my head up and kept working.”
Christensen is set to play his 111th AFL game this Saturday as the Lions take on GWS at the Gabba.
Listen to Andy Maher's chat with Allen Christensen in the player below: