'Shed a tear': Port Adelaide star Sam Powell-Pepper opens up about 'shattering' knee injury
Port Adelaide star Sam Powell-Pepper has spoken to 9News about the emotional impact of his first major injury, which has sidelined him for the season.
The 26-year-old, who underwent surgery on a torn ACL two days ago, said learning about the extent of his injury - which requires a year-long layoff and recovery - had brought him to tears.
"I'm not really an emotional person, I don't cry too often ... but it was pretty hard not to shed a tear, knowing the season was over for me. It's pretty shattering news," he said.
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He is being supported by his fiancé Brya and his spirits are being kept up by his two young daughters.
Sam Powell-Pepper leaves the field with a knee injury. AFL Photos via Getty Images
"Anything goes wrong in life, always come home and the first people I see running down the hallway are my girls," he said.
"So it's hard not to stay positive when you've got two girls running up, smiling."
Powell-Pepper has also received encouraging words from Power champion Robbie Gray, who reached out to him almost immediately.
"He gave me a call after all this happened, and he said, 'I'm open to a chat whenever you want', so I'm definitely going to pick his brain for sure," Powell-Pepper said.
Sam Powell-Pepper clutches at his knee in round seven. AFL Photos via Getty Images
Gray is all too familiar with Powell-Pepper's predicament, having overcome a potentially career-altering knee injury of his own before he eventually became one of the club's greatest ever players.
"He obviously turned his career around after his ACL, and had an amazing career," Powell-Pepper said.
Powell-Pepper said coach Ken Hinkley had also been supportive.
"He said I'll be back better than ever, which I will be... I'll take the focus off me now, and I wanna support the boys for the rest of the year, and hopefully we can go all the way," Powell-Pepper said.
This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.
