WHEN any player goes down with a serious knee injury, every football fan finds themself hoping for the best, no matter which team they follow.  But when it’s a popular and respected figure amongst a playing group, a supporter base and the football public because of his talent and his reputation as an all ‘round nice guy, hope for a good outcome intensifies.

So as Matt Suckling collapsed to the ground at Aurora Stadium on Saturday afternoon clutching his right knee, a feeling of disbelief and shock engulfed all fans of the game.

The incident was a classic example of how an anterior cruciate ligament is damaged, but every Hawthorn person hoped for the best for Suckling, one of the Club’s premier ball users.

He was carried from the field and into the change rooms to be assessed by Club doctors and physios, and he describes the pain as the worst he’s experienced.

That pain though soon disappeared and, he knew he was about to receive bad news.

 “Immediately I was in a fair bit of pain, probably the most pain I’ve ever been in, so I knew something pretty serious had happened,” he told hawthornfc.com.au

“About a minute after that, there was no pain at all and I’ve been able to walk around ever since – I haven’t even had a pain killer so I’m pretty lucky in that regard that it’s not aching every night.

“I know people that have done it have said that it hurts a lot when it happens and then they feel like they can go back out and play.

“As soon as I felt I was in that boat, I was starting to get pretty shattered.”

As messages of support began to flood social media, Suckling was delivered the news he’d been dreading.

His season over before it began.

“I saw the docs and the physio give each other a sort of dull look and they took a couple of deep breaths so I knew what they were going to say,” he said.

“Then they said it and left me in there to my own devices and let it sink in by myself... I shed a few tears.”

It has been five days since the 24 year old suffered the injury, and he says the support received from fans on social media has been overwhelming.

“I’ve been pretty good, I’ve got a lot of support on twitter, instagram and facebook – a lot of comments and messages,” he said.

“I’ve had so much support it has been tremendous and very humbling and it has made me feel good over the last few days knowing there’s so much support out there.

“It’s very much appreciated, I’m a bit overwhelmed but it’s lovely.”

Suckling will undergo a traditional knee reconstruction in two weeks, resisting the temptation to opt for the LARS operation.

“I’m just going the normal reconstruction with the hamstring graft,” he said.

“We did speak about the LARS, it’s obviously pretty tempting to be back out there in June or July but we thought it was best for me to get the traditional method, miss one season and be right to go next pre-season.”

The defender revealed he has sought advice and support from teammates Michael Osborne, Brendan Whitecross and Alex Woodward who have all undergone knee reconstructions in the past 12 months.

He says the advice given from his teammates has been invaluable – even providing him with some sleep tactics.

“I’ve spoken to all the boys here – we’ve had five in the last 12 months so it’s not really a good thing but for me having just done it, I’ve got a lot of support from them,” he said.

“They’ve given me some tips on how to sleep with a little pillow between the legs to make it a little more comfortable, which is good.”

The Hawks “super boot” has come into the Club each day since suffering the injury, admitting he can now address weaknesses in his game during his recovery.

“I come into the club every day at the moment and work on all my leg muscles to keep them firing,” he said.

“Once I have surgery it makes the transition back into training easier and makes for less complications when I’m back training.

“I’m just looking at the positives now - I suppose I’ve done it at a pretty good time, it does suck I’ve done all the pre-season but it does mean I’m only going to miss one season of footy, it’s not going to carry over into next year.

“It also gives me a chance to work on some weaknesses – I can become stronger and fitter so I’m looking at the positives like that.”

Another positive is the product of Wagga Wagga in New South Wales has the opportunity to return home for a few days before his operation, then can enjoy time with his family post-surgery.

“I’m going back to Wagga Wagga today, I’ll be down there for four or five days and once I have the surgery I’ll probably go back for a couple of weeks,” he said.

More than anything though, Suckling says he just can’t wait to play football in 2014 and is grateful the injury wasn’t to his biggest weapon, his left leg.

“It’s not my left leg so I can still kick as far, which is obviously a relief,” he said.

“Come NAB Cup next year, I’ll be 12 months post-surgery so that’s perfect to be back playing.

“I’m just looking forward to next year.”

Kate Salemme is a member of Hawthorn Football Club's Digital Media team reporting for hawthornfc.com.au from the Ricoh Centre.