One year has passed since Jason Winderlich had his first round of surgery to repair a split disk in his back which was sustained early in 2008.
The improvement in his injury has been so dramatic that the the 24-year-old midfielder has been able to play great football this year and has not missed a beat.
“I definitely surprised myself and the medical staff,"" he said to media today.
""I had the first operation on my back on June 30 last year, and the second one on October 13. The first time I ran was December 22.""
Winderlich said he had been anticipating a six week stint in the VFL before re-entering the AFL however, after just two months of pre-season training, he was ready to play.
""To start playing footy in our first practice match at Whitten oval at the end of February was a lot quicker than we all thought,” he said.
“It’s been a more enjoyable season because I didn’t expect to play much footy this year. I go in with a clear mind week in and week out and in the first half of the year because we had a few injuries I was the fourth or fifth oldest player and I’m only 24.
“It was pretty exciting looking around the rooms and seeing some of the younger guys there.""
To watch the Winderlich and Camporeale interview on Bomber.tv click here
Assistant coach, Scott Camporeale, can see a similarity between Winderlich’s injury and Scott Gumbleton's back problem. Scans revealed that the 20-year-old had a bulging disk in his back and he had surgery in early April this year.
“Scott’s tracking along well now. He’s joined into a few training drills last Tuesday and over the next couple of weeks will progress to doing some slight movement – ground balls and working on his agility,"" Camporeale said.
“Our focus for Scotty is not to pressure him into coming back to play this year, it’s all looking toward next year for him – but if he plays a couple of games at the end of the season it will be a bonus.""
Winderlich - a life-long Bombers fan - said the team is enjoying playing in the big rivalry clashes and is deperate to beat Collingwood for the second time this year.
