"A cheek's a nice injury! After I had surgery, I could still run, lift weights, do everything I wanted to do. It didn't really affect me too much. The knee surgery wasn't a nice one. Being a winger, speed being important, to get your legs taken away from you... that was a long lay-off, 10 months-plus, potentially a career-ending injury.
"In sport you're going to experience that once at least. It's all part of the journey, the hurdles that come up when you least expect them. You just have to learn to come through them the other side, and learn about yourself through that process.
"I've always been diligent and disciplined with my stretching and my preparation, the way I look after myself physically. But once I experienced that knee injury I had to take it to a new level, in terms of my rehab had to be bang-on. I had to understand what my body needed, when it needed it. I wanted to come back better than I was before.
"It may me understand and appreciate just how hard I'm going to have to work (while) thinking I already was working hard. It's put me in good stead now. I'm 30 years old, I've looked after myself well, I feel good. Hopefully all of that work will see me paid back in the next few years of my career, when I can keep pushing it."