ZAK BUTTERS will make his comeback from injury in Port Adelaide’s SANFL game against Central District on Saturday and the clever midfielder is looking forward to being joined by some others from the rehab room.
Butters will line up at Elizabeth Oval on Saturday alongside Hamish Hartlett (hip), Tom Clurey (jaw) and Jackson Mead (spleen) among the side.
The 20-year-old has been sidelined since suffering an ankle syndesmosis injury and related nerve damage in the club’s AFL win over Richmond in April.
The club has been conservative around putting a timeframe on Butters’ return because of the unique nature of the injury and the talented youngster admits the time has snuck up on him.
“It’s come around a bit quicker than expected but I’m just excited to be back around the boys and training,” he told portadelaidefc.com.au.
“It’s been a pretty exciting week to be back with the boys involved in footy.”
Butters admitted there were some difficult times during his rehabilitation, but it made it easier to have some teammates pushing him along as they dealt with their own injuries.
He said it will be special to be making his return alongside Clurey and Mead in particular, and said he was looking forward to Xavier Duursma joining them as early as next week.
“It’s good to get some quality guys back playing footy at the club,” Butters said.
“It’s exciting to be able to play with them at SANFL level and just to get back to playing footy.
“Us boys have been grinding away in rehab together so it’s been good to have them there and good to have them all coming back around the same time back together so it’s an exciting time for the club.
“It was tough at stages but I probably just controlled what I could control and mainly keep my fitness up.
“I’ve basically just given myself the best chance to come back when my injury did heal and I’ve done the hard work to get that done.”
Saturday’s game will be part of the SANFL’s Indigenous Round and Port Adelaide will wear a modified version of the Indigenous guernsey it wore during the AFL’s Sir Doug Nicholls Round earlier this year.
Butters is excited to be part of the occasion but is expecting to be eased back with managed game time.
“It’s my first game in a couple of months so I’ll probably be managed but I’m back playing footy so I’m on a bit of a mission as well,” he said.
“I’m just looking forward to being out there and I’ll leave that to the coaches to decide.”
After three straight defeats, Port Adelaide will be looking to return to the winners’ list against the Bulldogs.
Elizabeth Oval has fond memories for Butters who played his first – and only – SANFL game there in a 90-point win back in Round 18, 2019.
He is hoping for a repeat of the result on Saturday.
“We had a good day out there last time so hopefully we can repeat that,” he laughed.
“We’ve got a bit of a good team this week so looking forward to getting out there and playing with some of the boys I haven’t played with before and hopefully get another win for the Magpies and get them back on track.”
