It was possible that Melbourne midfielder Christian Petracca could have required an amputation on his infected finger if he played in the Demons' match against Essendon last weekend, he revealed.
Petracca underwent two surgeries on his infected finger that came from a dog bite and was discharged from hospital on Tuesday, but says he was never a chance to play against Essendon.
"Obviously I wasn't a chance to play against Essendon at all. If I was, it a was a potential chance of doing serious damage," Petracca told afl.com.au.
"If I didn't see the doctor at the same as what I did and let it grow for a bit more then that [amputation] was an option."
"I'd rather miss a game or two than potentially lose my finger."
He took a chance and played against Richmond on Anzac Day Eve with heavy strapping on his finger, however the soreness worsened and was required to be inducted into emergency and was operated on the next day.
Despite that, Petracca could return as early as this weekend.
"I'm 50-50. I really want to play, I want to play every game and it's up to the docs and the medical and the physio staff to see what they think," he explained to afl.com.au.
"At the moment it's just all about doing everything right, being diligent with my antibiotics and having that every day."
