One knee reconstruction would be enough to make any athlete reconsider their options.
Sydney premiership defender Alex Johnson had languished through five before his return after 2136 days out of AFL footy - but tore his sixth anterior cruciate ligament in just his second game back.
His last game prior to his comeback in round 20 against Collingwood was the 2012 grand final, when Sydney beat Hawthorn to win the flag.
Last week, Johnson was delisted by the Swans, casting doubt over his playing future in the top flight.
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However, make no mistake - you've got to be made of seriously tough stuff if you can negate through five knee reconstructions worth of rehabilitation, and in the wake of his sixth, Johnson is giving himself every chance to make it back to AFL footy, despite his delisting.
After his latest setback, Johnson put his damaged knee in the hands of surgeon Julian Feller, who is the AFL's key man when it comes to knee reconstructions.
Feller waved his magic wand over Collingwood's Tyson Goldsack, who made a remarkable return for Collingwood's first final against West Coast - just six months after he busted his knee in March.
The surgeon reconstructed Goldsack’s knee using a graft from his quad, and after some gritty rehab, the Pies defender returned to give his side a much-needed boost for their finals campaign.
Considering the short time frame required for Goldsack's return, and Feller's own confidence, Johnson believes he remains every chance to recover and be picked up by another club.
"I've got a really good relationship with Julian now, he has done the last couple of ACL reconstructions on me," Johnson told SEN on Thursday morning.
"He was really honest with me and he said, 'what do you want to do?'.
"I said, 'what do you think I should do? I would love to continue playing footy'.
"He said, 'yeah I think you should'.
"I back myself to get back and contribute for the majority of 2019. I’d love to be playing early rounds of 2019."
Johnson's comeback was one of the feel-good stories of the season, and it came at a time for the Swans when they needed it most.
However, it all came crashing back down to earth when he collapsed after an innocuous incident in the round 21 game against Melbourne, and the images of Johnson being consoled by devastated teammates said it all.
The image of his mother looking on at the devastation in the Swans dugout carried even more weight.
Alex Johnson on this image.
— Whateley (@WhateleySEN) September 19, 2018
"It's hard not to get emotional."
📸 @WLudbey pic.twitter.com/zpPaRgDEi9
Fears of an ACL injury were confirmed later that week.
The 26-year-old has been through the wringer, and is far from throwing in the towel.
However, while admitting he hasn't attracted too much interest from clubs yet, Johnson remains hopeful he can be given a second chance.
If that chance doesn't arise, he intends to move back to Melbourne later this year.
"I'm really hopeful that a club will give me an opportunity. I'm yet to have too many conversations yet, but I would love one more opportunity to get back and play AFL," Johnson said.
"I'm only 26. I feel as though I’m in a reasonable position in terms of my body. I'd go anywhere to continue the dream of getting back there.
"In my mind, I've only really had two on the left. I've only returned to playing twice since I’ve had those operations and now I've got one on the right.
"I'm more confident this year than I was going into last year that I can get back and contribute at the highest level next year."
