Eagles star Elliot Yeo has opened up on the frustrating and unfortunate road he has taken to recover from osteitis pubis.
The 28-year-old was limited to just the 12 appearances last year, two more than his prior campaign, which were both heavily impacted by the groin injury.
Yeo had his 2020 campaign curtailed due to the setback, with his final game of the year coming in Round 11 against Carlton.
Despite a long journey back in his recovery ahead of the next season, Yeo was once again limited in his time at AFL level, missing the opening 10 matches of the 2021 season.
The Perth-born midfielder was able to pull on the blue and gold for the final 12 games of last season in what was a hopeful attempt to steer his side back toward finals contention.
Now eyeing West Coast's Round 1 clash against Suns in March, Yeo has had time to reflect on the demanding expedition that now places his body in good health.
Speaking toย AFL.com.au'sย Nathan Schmook, Yeo spoke on the unorthodox journey he has taken in returning from injury.
"It's a weird injury and it felt like a rollercoaster to go through emotionally and physically," he said.
"But being on the other side of that and knowing what I do now, I feel like it's built a bit of resilience in me.
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"It's not like a usual injury where they can put a time on it and it's a label and you know what you need to build to.
"It was literally 'go until you feel better', which is hard, and that took me a fair bit of time to get my head around."
Despite the setback, Yeo believes his prolonged time on the sidelines could potentially be a "turning point" in his career.
"Looking back, I feel like I've changed a fair bit for the better, whether that injury has helped or it's a progression," he said.
"But I'd like to think over the course of however many years, this could have been a turning point for me in terms of maturity and learning my body and understanding things.
"Taking a back step and trusting the process as well with a lot of the strength and conditioning, knowing that it is all to help me get better and play footy, but also to be a better person."
With a fit and firing Elliot Yeo at their disposal, the Eagles will look to make their claim on the top eight in 2022 following a disappointing campaign last year.
Adam Simpson's side will enter 2022 with the second oldest list in the competition, trailing only Geelong in both age and experience.
The Eagles will be eyeing a strong start this year, not facing a finals side from 2021 until Round 5 when they host the Swans at Optus Stadium.
West Coast will clash with the Kangaroos, Dockers and Magpies between their fixtures against the Suns and Swans.
