Port Adelaide star Sam Powell-Pepper has spoken out on the emotional toll of the serious knee injury he suffered last Friday night.
The Power forward will miss the rest of the 2024 season after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament during the third quarter of his team's win over St Kilda at Adelaide Oval.
Powell-Pepper told Nine News that the diagnosis was 'shattering' to hear.
"I'm not really an emotional person, I don't cry too often ... but it was pretty hard not to shed a tear, knowing the season was over for me," Powell-Pepper said.
In what was the 26-year-old's first major injury, the Power leadership group member had surgery on the torn ligament earlier this week.
Powell-Pepper has played 142 games for the Power and featured in at least 16 matches each season since debuting for the club in 2017.
Earlier in the week, he received a phone call from Port Adelaide champion Robbie Gray, who suffered the same injury in the 2012 season.
Gray had a remarkable return from his ACL rupture, earning four All-Australian blazers and winning three club best-and-fairest awards post-injury.
"He gave me a call after all this happened, and he said, 'I'm open to a chat whenever you want', so I'm definitely going to pick his brain for sure," Powell-Pepper said.
"He obviously turned his career around after his ACL, and had an amazing career.
"He said I'll be back better than ever, which I will be... I'll take the focus off me now, and I want to support the boys for the rest of the year, and hopefully we can go all the way."
