Western Force lock Izack Rodda is ready to put his new foot forward in his return following a horror injury run that saw him miss most of last year's Super Rugby Pacific season and the Wallabies' disastrous Rugby World Cup in France.
Suffering multiple foot fractures over a two-year period, Rodda went under the knife in the offseason aiming to fix his troublesome midfoot once and for all. Looking like something akin to Frankenstein's monster, he now sports 10-12 pins and two plates following a surgery that flattened his arch and rotated his heel.
While the rehab was painful, the mental toll was just as tough on the 27-year-old with Rodda admitting an array of strange thoughts entered his mind following his third injury, including whether it was time to hang up the boots.
"It's been a tough 18 months," Rodda told ESPN. "I had the first one and I had surgery and rehab, I thought I was past it, and then in the second trial game, it happened again. That took a lot of energy to try and stay focused.
"It was hard. It's very, very tough. And then to come back and do it a third time before the World Cup, that was a nightmare, I just thought it wouldn't happen again and then when it happened, I was a bit all over the place. I didn't really know what to think or how to handle it.
"At one stage I was Googling 'Can you have foot replacements?' and stuff like that. I was like, is that a thing?
"Like anyone with a couple back-to-back injuries, doubt creeps in and you start thinking 'is this just the new normal? Is this going to keep happening?'
"I've spoken to a few guys that have had back-to-back injuries and they wonder 'is this it? Am I just going to be injury ridden for the rest of my career?' And those kinds of thoughts.
"For a brief moment after it happened the third time, I was kind of like, 'OK, maybe I might have to look at what else there is besides rugby?' But that was just a moment of when I was just in a bad place.
"Once I spoke to the surgeons, worked through it and got an understanding of what I had, what had happened and the surgery to fix it, it was all good after that. I just had that kind of moment where you just think worst case scenario.
"The surgeon showed me X rays of where all the screws are, where they flattened my foot and stuff. It looks a bit gnarly, but I can't notice it at all anymore. So, it's done what it's needed to."
Turning to a psychiatrist early in his rehab process was key for Rodda in his preparation to make his return for the Force by Round 2, while his wedding to his partner Kobe in December proved the perfect distraction during his painful rehab.
"I'm seeing a psychiatrist on and off, she used to work with the Force here. She's helped me through the whole process, she was the one that helped me get through the whole mental side of it.
"I was worrying about it all the time and had anxiety about it. But she tried to help me get through that process and now is preparing me to return playing. It was actually very helpful.
"I thought my career might be over and had all these different thoughts go through my head, but I guess the biggest thing I was trying to do was stay positive throughout the process and I really lent on my partner throughout the last year and on my family to keep myself focused and they really helped me stay on track.
"Now after this surgery the surgeon's really confident, that's given me a bit of confidence as well. I'm looking forward to getting back into it.
"100 percent [the wedding was a good distraction], because I was going through the injury at the same time we were going through the process of organising the wedding, it did take my mind off it and to be fair that whole month leading into the wedding I wasn't even thinking remotely about my foot."
Having Missed out on what would have been a second World Cup for the Wallabies, Rodda says the disappointment has only added to the fire to pull on the gold jersey again and represent Australia at a home World Cup in 2027.
"Definitely [there's a fire to play at the 2027 World Cup]," Rodda told ESPN. "The main reason I came back from France was to play for the Wallabies and to try and go to another World Cup.
"When your body gives out on you, it's pretty tough. It's a pretty tough pill to swallow. You build up towards the World Cup for four years, it's not just like they come around every year, it takes a lot of energy to build up for those.
"If anything, after the injuries, it's just given me more drive, more fuel to the fire to try and push for the home World Cup 2027 and obviously the British & Irish Lions in 2025. So there [are] two big rugby events coming up in Australia, I'm looking forward to trying to put my hand up for one or both of those."
But first he'll need to make his return for the Force and play for a contract extension, with just a year left on his current term with the Force and Rugby Australia.
"I'm 100 percent keen to stay in Australia to play at the World Cup and all that stuff, but just after the injury, options are open," Rodda told ESPN.
"I hope they want to keep me around. But I guess they're going to see how I go in the first couple rounds before they'll make a decision. I'll just see what happens from there, but I'm definitely keen to stay."