Essendon midfielder Dylan Shiel has opened up on the toll of an innocuous off-season injury while admitting he is weighing up his AFL future.
Speaking exclusively to 7NEWS, Shiel admitted he was enjoying playing again after having “an unlucky run of mishaps with the body” over the past couple of years.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Dylan Shiel speaks exclusively to 7NEWS.
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“It certainly challenges the character and the want to keep backing up day after day,” he told 7NEWS.
Shiel, 31, has managed just eight games this season after managing only 12 the year before.
And he went into detail about a freak accident he suffered in the off-season.
“(I was) playing with my young daughter, playing with some blocks on the ground … my knee clicked (after kneeling on a block) and I managed to tear my meniscus,” he told 7NEWS.
“Once you do it it the first time, there’s a greater chance you do it again and again.
“It was a funny day. I ended up tearing my meniscus, four hours later I had (renowned surgeon) Julian Feller at Epworth performing a pretty basic surgery.
“It was a bit of a blunder. I’m glad I got through that. It was a little bit embarrassing.”
“It was a real one in a million incident.”
He said he now practises “gratitude” when he’s on the field but admitted he’s been through some “really challenging” times after a couple of surgeries at the end of last season.
“We weren’t sure how the recovery was going to be … I started the season without conditioning, and for the first half of the year, that felt like pre-season.,” he said.
“It had its challenges … from a proud player and a guy who’s played in the comp a long time, you move into wanting the next thing really quickly.
“It was just a bit harder than you wanted it to be.”
Shiel also confessed he had been weighing up his future at Essendon.
“You’ve got to assess what’s best for Dylan Shiel and the family,” he said.
“Once the decision’s made, whether it’s stay or go, you’re fully on board. I was really clear with (coach) Brad (Scott about it).
“I’ve been really conscious of the narrative around this in the last couple of months and have been really clear with my manager, my family. I’ve got a job to do here and be the best I can be at the Essendon Football Club.
“I’d like (to think that I’m going) to fulfill my contract (at Essendon).
“I joined the club six years ago and the dream is, and still is to finish my career here at Essendon.
“But there’s going to be some interest there and I understand the nature of the business … We’ll rationally analyse things and, in conversation with the club, I’m sure we’ll make the best decision for one, the club, and me, yeah.”
He admitted St Kilda was “certainly interested” in his services last year and believed they were interested again.
“I’m not oblivious to the news, they’re obviously interested again … we’ll see. I’m not going to deny, deny, deny when it’s clearly happening.”