PORT ADELAIDE defender Jack Watts is trying to stay positive despite suffering a horrific leg injury in his side’s 16-point Round 2 victory over Carlton.

Watts made a shift to the defensive group in season 2019, and felt he was starting to repay some of the faith he had lost from the club and members throughout a fairly public off-season.

However, his season was stifled when he broke his leg and dislocated his ankle in a tackle in the final term against the Blues.

“It’s hard not to get down in the dumps straight after it happens,” Watts told portadelaidefc.com.au.

“I feel like I owe the club and supporters a fair bit, especially after what happened in the off-season.

“I was just starting to pay that back a little bit and then this happened, so that’s sort of the thing that hurts the most.

“That’s the frustrating thing but I can’t do anything about what’s happened, you can only tackle what’s in front of you.

“I’ll be bringing a positive mindset to it and hopefully getting back as soon as I can.”

The 28-year-old said it was just one of those unlucky instances that sometimes happen on the football field.

“Unfortunately, Daisy (Dale Thomas) came and tackled me from my blind spot,” Watts said. “I just planted my right leg on the ground as he fell down my leg and I felt it go straight away.

“The pain wasn’t that bad to be honest.

“I gave out that big cry because I knew that I’d felt my leg break.

“It was strange, I really didn’t have any pain at all from that point on, up until post-surgery.”

Despite the serious nature of the three-hour long surgery, the former Demon was pleased with the outcome.

“The surgeon was really happy,” he said.

“He was able to get everything back in place. My whole ankle was dislocated so the actual ankle was out of the joint.

“It was a pretty serious surgery and I think I was under for three hours but he was pretty happy with it.”

Watts knows it is a long road to recovery but he is trying to focus on some aspects of his life outside of football until he can get back into the rehabilitation group.

“Initially, I might try and get away a little bit once I can get up and walk around.

“I can’t really do much in here, in terms of training, that’s probably the time to get back and see some family.

“I am at uni doing my MBA - that will take up a fair bit of mental stress and time.

“I would (also) love to get up north with our Aboriginal programs and get up there for a couple of weeks if possible.

“Once I’m up and going and can train, I’m pretty keen to get around the club as much as possible and work hard and start that comeback trail.”