Cooper Lord knew it was serious.
The Carlton young gun was watching his teammates play Melbourne from a hospital bed ahead of surgery to remove a staph infection from his leg.
What started as a painful pimple-sized lump under the skin near his hamstring overnight grew in size, pain and changed colour.
The speed of how it had changed prompted an uncertainty in Lord.
Staph is a bacterial condition that usually rests benignly on the skin, but it can turn severe once it enters the bloodstream and joints.
Lord’s staph was eventually removed but a challenging period remained: The wound needed to stay open and be treated regularly until fully healed.
The 21-year-old, preparing to face Geelong in this Friday’s elimination final, says the difficult process is a reminder to appreciate sound health.
“It was a little bit scary,” Lord admitted, opening up for the first time since the injury.
“I just got a severe infection in my leg which ended up needing surgery to get out of me.
“The whole healing process when you have an open wound in your leg is pretty solid, to be honest, I am grateful to be back out on the park.
“When something like that happens, you don’t take your health for granted, so it’s been great to run out with the boys again.”
A staph infection enters through a break in the skin or mucous membranes.
Lord’s case was Carlton’s fifth in the space of 18 months, prompting an investigation into the club’s shared spaces.
Lord wants to wait to reflect but remembers the process unfolding quickly.
“With an infection, you have to leave it open so they can clean it properly and make sure there’s no more infection,” he said.
“Once again, the medical team here were amazing the way they supported me through that and helped me through those few weeks.
“It sort of all happened pretty quickly, but I remember the night before surgery I was watching the Melbourne game earlier in the year from a hospital bed.
“It was just crazy how things change so quickly. As I reflect, I am sure I will do a bit more of that post the end of the season, but I’m just happy to be out there and having fun alongside my best mates.”
Lord is also grateful for Carlton’s support during the harrowing experience.
“I am lucky, the club here is amazing, the medical staff is amazing coming into hospital to check in on me,” he said.
“I was pretty lucky to have all the support around me but yeah, definitely, it was challenging mentally.
“But coming out of it, it made me a better player, ultimately, because you do certainly appreciate the moments you get to be at full health and play the game.”
Carlton coach Josh Fraser says Lord shows “everything you’d want in a young player”.
“Really diligent, disciplined, great character (and) works hard – everything you’d want in a young player,” he said.
“He maximises his talent, he’s got parts of his game he’s continuing to grow. We’ve given him a couple of big assignments in the last fortnight and he’s handled them really well. He’s a guy that’s been important to us.”
Originally published as AFL Finals: Carlton young gun Cooper Lord on the ‘scary’ leg injury that required an extended period in hospital