Western Bulldogs key forward Josh Bruce says returning to play the game he loves after a lengthy injury layoff was a special moment.

The 30-year-old featured in Footscray’s clash against Carlton last Friday, having spent the last 10 months rehabilitating an ACL injury he sustained in round 21 of the 2021 AFL season.

He finished with three goals, nine disposals and three marks from managed minutes.

“The body is feeling pretty sore but it’s good to have that kind of pain again, rather than the other pain,” Bruce told westernbulldogs.com.au.

“It obviously felt amazing to be back out there and playing the game I love. Being out there with the ‘Scray boys was awesome.

“(Everyone getting around me for my first goal back) was really special too - it kind of reminds you why you play the game, and why you love it so much.

“That comradery is such an important aspect. It was a really special moment in my career.”

Bruce said while it was great to get his first game back out of the way, he’ll continue to take a cautious approach as he closes in on an AFL return.

“Obviously it’s a pretty significant injury and hasn’t been the smoothest of rehabs, and I had quite a few setbacks along the way so I was super nervous going into it,” he said.

“Once I got a few first contests out of the way and got a kick – that helped settle the nerves a bit and work myself back into it. Obviously the match fitness wasn’t there, but another couple of weeks and I’ll be right.

“I only played about 85-90 minutes on the weekend, so I probably want to play at least one full game of VFL which will probably be this week against Box Hill, and then aim for a (senior return) sometime after that.

“It’s obviously form and coach-dependent though, so we’ll suck it and see.”

The AFL Bulldogs will host Hawthorn this Friday night at Marvel Stadium, with Footscray to host Geelong at VU Whitten Oval on Saturday afternoon.