Injuries almost forced Gary Ablett into an early retirement during his time on the Gold Coast.

Ablett has been a revelation in 2019, with a move out of the midfield providing the Cats with a spark in the forward half of the ground.

Geelong fans are thankful to have the champion back in blue and white, but that dream return could have remained a fantasy if Ablett had walked away from football in his later years with the Suns.

A shoulder injury and the subsequent complications forced Ablett to contemplate calling it quits.

“I was really close to giving away the game a couple of years ago,” Ablett said, speaking to AFL Players.

“I had a few complications early days and ended up getting a frozen shoulder. When I went in for the surgery, it was a lot worse than we initially thought so we knew it would take a bit more time to get back from that.”

The shoulder surgery was during a time when injuries had started to become a regular occurrence for Ablett.

Between 2014-17, Ablett never played more than 15 games in a season which was an experience he had never dealt with previously.

From 2003 to 2013, Ablett played at least 20 games every season to become one of the most durable and consistent players in the competition.

While the toll of being one of the competition’s top players for so long had an impact on his body, the extended periods on the sidelines were impacting his desire to play.

“The second surgery was the latarjet procedure and that’s when I started thinking if I wanted to continue doing this,” Ablett said.

“I’d been doing it for 15 years at that point and was about ready to give it up but I’m pretty thankful that I pushed through.”

Geelong fans are thankful Ablett pushed through, as his return home has been a boost to the Cats’ premiership credentials.

Ablett leads all forwards in disposals and inside 50s and sits in the top 10 for goals and goal assists.

The Brownlow medallist has also earned himself 35 AFLCA votes, the fifth most of any player in the competition.

Ablett has become one of the competition’s most dynamic forwards and his teammates would be thanking the little master for pushing through his injury-plagued past.