IT’S BEEN a tough 12 months for Robert Murphy, and the talented forward has conceded his bumpy road to recovery from a serious knee complaint is not yet fully travelled.
Murphy underwent a knee reconstruction after a collision with Collingwood's Anthony Rocca in round nine last year, and subsequently missed the rest of the season.
He then played six games this year before succumbing to a hamstring strain – a complaint regularly sustained by players on the comeback trail from a lengthy injury such as a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
"If you miss so much football, you're body still is catching up a little bit," Murphy told westernbulldogs.com.au.
"You probably put your body under a bit more stress than it can handle, so I succumbed to the hamstring.
"I think it's going to be one of those years where I battle a few little niggles, but hopefully I can get enough fitness in to play a big part in the end of the year."
Murphy admits to being frustrated over the latest of his setbacks, but is optimistic he will overcome the problem and be back playing senior football, possibly as soon as this weekend.
"I'd gotten over my knee and I was feeling really good, the team was winning and life was getting back on track, and then the hamstring exploded," he said.
"Really, it's only about three weeks out of the game, so I'm sure I'll be okay in a couple of weeks and will get back into it.
"I'm hoping to be back before the break, hopefully next week, but probably the week after.
"I'm hoping to get picked this week, but I'll wait and see. It's hard to tell."
The Bulldogs were recently rocked by the sudden retirement of Brett Montgomery, who was forced from the game by a chronic neck injury.
At only 24, Murphy isn't considering his recent bad run with injury to be career defining.
However, Montgomery's decision does leave him with a desire to appreciate his limited time as an elite footballer.
"I'm still only pretty young, but certainly after a big injury you realise that you're not going to be out there forever," he said.
"You certainly don't know what your future holds, and maybe I'll be unlucky and get a sore neck and can't play any more as well.
"I'm sad for Brett, and it's a pretty tough and harsh game, but I'm not contemplating retirement just yet. I'll have to do a few more hamstrings before I do that."
As far as the knee is concerned, Murphy is ready to tackle the best of them. It's just a matter of getting the soft tissue right and ready for the remainder of the season.
"I have absolute confidence in my knee. I've had that for awhile now," he said.
"By about round two or three I felt really comfortable with it, really strong, so I feel pretty fit and healthy.
"If I can just get this leg right, I'll be ready to go."
