Western Bulldogs vice-captain Marcus Bontempelli says Tom Liberatore’s positive attitude will hold him in good stead as he recovers from an ACL injury suffered against Greater Western Sydney on the weekend.
The 25-year-old’s knee appeared to buckle as her pursued an opponent during the opening quarter of Sunday’s match. He would take no further part and on Monday was officially ruled out for the 2018 season.
Speaking to RSN on Tuesday morning, Bontempelli said Liberatore was in good spirits in the rooms post-match, and that the popular midfielder will have the full support of his teammates as he recovers.
“Tom’s quite the positive fella, so even after the game, you’d give him credits to sit there and mope but he was quite the opposite,” Bontempelli said.
“His ability to process things is admirable … he understood the process having been through it before, so I think that should hold him in good stead, and the rest of us can all believe in that and support him as any mate would.“
“We’re not just teammates out there, we’re quite close as a group, (and) our way of getting through will be to support him in any way we can.”
With the Dogs looking to bounce back from their Round 1 loss, Bontempelli said it was important to strike a balance between supporting Liberatore, and focusing on the rest of the season.
“It is such a long process back from point of injury, it’s a good 10 months, so processing that is one of the hardest parts, but as a football club it has to be in the back of our mind, with the forefront being the game ahead.”
