After bursting onto the scene as a mature aged recruit in 2013 Nick Kommer has spent most of his second season on an AFL list out of the limelight hampered by injuries.

Kommer is continuing his rehabilitation from surgery to repair patella tendonitis that has kept him on the sidelines for the majority of 2014.

The 23-year-old has struggled through the first major injury setback of his football career at any level.

“It has been pretty tough because you are here to play footy, I haven’t played a game all year and have barely trained,” Kommer said.

“I only really got to train two or three times when we came back from the Christmas break so it has been a bit of a nightmare.”

“Hopefully I can get it right and start of a fresh going into next pre-season.”

The live wire forward had surgery to repair an injured shoulder at the same time as the procedure on his tendonitis and is slowly beginning to build up his rehabilitation program.

“With my knee I just need work on my isolated strength in my left leg to get the quad up and going so that it can take most of the load and not put as much on the tendon,” he said.

“I am doing lot of exercises where I am trying to get my quad as strong as possible then I can start some different lifts, jumping, running and then hopefully into training.”

“It is a real slow process to start with, I just have to take it a step at a time to work on building the strength within my knee.”

With any return unlikely this season Kommer has his sights set on a strong pre-season leading into the 2015 season.

“I am trying to get around the boys and my personal goal is to get ready for pre-season next year.”