Cats popular veteran, Paul Chapman, is hoping to be back in time for Geelong’s clash with Port Adelaide, after damaging his hamstring in the third quarter against Sydney four weeks ago.
At the time Chapman felt it was a minor injury and played on. It wasn’t until the week after when the Cats were about to take on the Bulldogs, that the decision was made to pull him from the team to limit further discomfort.
"I just couldn't extend beyond 90 per cent, and the next week for the Richmond game it was the same." Chapman told News Limited.
"I was pretty frustrated, because all the scans looked fine, but we just decided to make sure we gave it time to get right.
"At the moment, I'm doing a lot of strengthening work, so they (the fitness staff) ran the guts out of me this week, which wasn't much fun," he laughed.
Chapman confirms it’s not related to the injury that restricted him from play last year.
"It's not the muscle, it's the tendon, so it is a different issue," he said.
This time, Chapman’s hamstring problem looks very similar to an injury that hampered James Kelly a couple of years back, which took him less than two months to recover from.
"I think this is the same thing that Kel (James Kelly) had a few years ago and he was out for about six or seven weeks, so you don't want to muck around with it,” Chapman said.
After speaking to Kelly about his injury, Chapman is feeling much more optimistic about his return to the Cats.
"I was speaking to Kel about it and once he got it right he has never had a problem with it again, so that made me feel a lot more positive.
Despite feeling frustrated, Chapman is thrilled with the Cats current position on the ladder. It’s made it a lot easier for him to watch his teammates from the sideline and he feels there is no pressure to rush back too soon.
"The good thing is that with us being 7-0 it gives us the luxury, so to speak, to take our time and make sure it is right,” Chapman explained.
"The club always takes the cautious approach, so there is no real rush to get back."
