Collingwood tall Mason Cox has revealed he would have no issue with the club putting his name up for trade negotiations.
After it was reported that the Bombers had approached the Magpies in hope of potentially trading for the key forward, Cox felt it was just a result of business within the league.
“I hate to say it, but we are pawns in a bigger game and it is what it is,” Cox told SEN Breakfast.
“Clubs have got to make decisions to make salary caps and everything else and conversations will be had without your approval, but at the end of the day it is a business and you’ve got to do what’s best for yourself and the club has got to do what’s best for themselves and unfortunately sometimes those two don’t align.”
Cox revealed he never held any discussions with the Bombers and was never interested in seeking a trade.
“The AFL put something on Twitter saying I was personally talking to Essendon. That never happened. I was never talking to anyone from that club. Whether or not the clubs were having conversations, that’s something that probably happens on a daily basis with every single player on the list,” Cox said.
“I was probably ignorant to it, but I was never personally contacted by Essendon and never sought out any trade.
“So yeah, it was quite interesting. It’s the first time I’ve been in talks in the trade period, it’s a bit of misreading from some people and misreporting which I guess is the nature of the beast.
“It is what it is, I’m happy I’m still staying at Collingwood and nothing changes for me, we keep moving on.”
Cox also revealed to the SEN Breakfast team that he required three surgeries to treat the eye injury that he sustained during the season.
Later testing revealed Cox had a second detached retina that had originally gone diagnosed.
“It was tough going for about a month and a half. I was pretty much legally blind for a while,” Cox said.
“We’ve gotten to the point now where I’m almost back to 20-20. I’m still on a lot of medication, but fortunate enough now to get back to my family, travel, get on a plane and be able to drive.
“To get a bit of independence is nice. For a long time I was sitting in a dark room staring at the ceiling and not much was going on in my life.
“About 45 minutes of every hour I had to spend on my back so I couldn’t really get out and about or do much and it is nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel and we’re getting to the point now where I can start working out.
“I had three surgeries. Two on one eye, one on the other and then I eventually kind of got the independence to go on one walk per day. Then three walks per day.
“Hopefully when day one of pre-season comes around we’ll be able to do contact.”
Cox managed just the 14 games in the black and white this season, kicking 19 goals.