Essendon defender Marty Gleeson says he is “absolutely stoked” to re-sign with the club for a further two years.
The new deal will ensure Gleeson stays at The Hangar until at least the end of 2020 as he recovers from a broken ankle that has so far derailed his season.
“I love the club, I love the boys and I think we’re going in the right direction, so I can’t wait,” Gleeson said.
“I’m stoked, I guess we sort of had it in the pipelines and I just wanted to get it done.
“Obviously it sucks about the injury, that’s part of footy, so I’m just looking forward to hopefully getting back later this year or the start of next year.”
The important backman has been on the sidelines for the entire season to date and said having the club throw its support behind him with the new contract will allow him to put full focus into his rehabilitation.
“I just wanted to make sure I get my ankle right, I guess,” he said.
“It’s a tough one, I want to play this year, but I want to make sure I don’t have any issues with it down the track.”
Gleeson said he is pleased with his progress as he continues to patiently wait for the chance to remove his moon boot.
“It’s going well, I caught up with the surgeon last week, he was really happy with the progress – it’s starting to heal really well.
“There’s probably just a little more to go with the healing process, so I’ll still be in the boot for just a little bit longer, but I’m happy with how it’s going.”
The 23-year-old admitted it has been frustrating watching the Bombers from the sidelines and is itching to return to the side.
“It’s tough, I’m not the best watcher. I just want to get out there and you play with your mates,” Gleeson said.
“That’s what we do, we love playing footy and everything you do during the week is to play footy. Oh well, that’s the way it goes.”
Gleeson said he is confident the club is heading forward and can achieve success sooner rather than later.
“I guess we’ve got a lot of guys now around that 22-25 age bracket, so hopefully we can keep working hard together in the coming years and we can really start to put that out on the footy field.”
