{"id":354384,"date":"2023-12-19T00:05:40","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T01:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=354384"},"modified":"2023-12-19T02:01:49","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T02:01:49","slug":"smith-reveals-motivation-after-horror-knee-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=354384","title":{"rendered":"Smith reveals 'motivation' after horror knee injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

Western Bulldogs<\/a> star Bailey Smith<\/a> has no doubt he will get back to his best as he prepares to undergo a knee reconstruction this week.<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old is likely to miss the entire 2024 AFL season after tearing his right ACL at pre-season training last Wednesday<\/a>.\ufeff<\/p>\n

While the long-term injury has clouded Smith's future at Whitten Oval, with the midfielder off contract at the end of next season, it has not diminished his commitment to the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n

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Speaking for the first time since suffering the injury, \ufeffSmith was in a positive frame of mind.<\/p>\n

\"Bailey<\/p>\n

"I'm really motivated to come back bigger and better," he told 9News.<\/p>\n

"I know everyone says it [after an ACL injury] but \ufeffI think all my actions will do the talking when I get back."<\/p>\n

Smith has pledged his full support to his teammates, vowing to use his time on the sideline to play a different role within the team<\/p>\n

"That's sort of my motivation, is to try and have a positive impact on others," he said.<\/p>\n

"It's only a small part not being able to run out on weekends so as much support as I can be for the group is sort of the goal."<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Smith has been back in the gym completing preparing for surgery and hopes to drive standards at training with his dedication to his rehabilitation.<\/p>\n

"Hopefully I can inspire a few of the boys who get into training and don't feel like it. When they see me in a full sweat each day, hopefully, that can spur them on a bit," he said.<\/p>\n

Reports have linked Smith \ufeffto a potential trade to Geelong<\/a> or Collingwood in 2025 but Smith said he will not weigh up his options until after surgery.<\/p>\n

"It's obviously frustrating, but there are problems and then there are real-world problems, so you put it into perspective as well as you can and get on with things," he said.<\/p>\n

"Once I get training and stuff, that's when we'll start to properly put the mind to [my contract].<\/p>\n

"Right now I'm just going through the motions with the knee and just trying to get in a good headspace and a good space."<\/p>\n

Smith has sought advice from former teammate \ufeffJosh Bruce and the Dogs' new assistant coach Alex Johnson. Both have a history of ACL injuries, with the latter having gone through seven ACL reconstructions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Western Bulldogs star Bailey Smith has no doubt he will get back to his best as he prepares to undergo a knee reconstruction this week. […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":354386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354384"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=354384"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":354388,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354384\/revisions\/354388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/354386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=354384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=354384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=354384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}