A SNAPPED titanium plate in star Richmond forward Jack Riewoldt's little finger forced him back into surgery just three weeks after his initial operation.
 
Riewoldt, 28, snapped the finger in his right hand after it was stepped on in his first ever game for the club - a pre-season match against VFL side Northern Bullants (now Northern Blues). It has plagued him since and he was forced to receive medical clearance to play on at least one occasion this season.
 
"I had my right little finger fused and then unfortunately I snapped the titanium plate – the back of it – three weeks in, and had to go back in on a Monday night and have it done again," Riewoldt told Melbourne radio station RSN on Friday.
 
"It's a thing that's held me back and been the biggest pain in my bum over this break."
 
While disappointed with having to go back under the knife, Riewoldt said he had not had any problems with the plate since.
 
"It's got to the stage where they could fuse it a bit straight for me. I've still got range in two of the joints – it's the middle one that's been fused," he said.
 
"To break it again after I'd fused it the first time wasn't a great result, but it's all smooth sailing now."
 
Riewoldt said his ball drop had become more difficult in the last few rounds, with his goalkicking falling off. In the final three weeks of the year, he registered 3.6.
 
"You don't want to make excuses but (the finger) became a little bit of an issue with being able to hold the ball towards the end of the season. I've sneakily held the footy a few times with it now and I'm really confident with where it's at," he said.
 
Despite the issue, Riewoldt has lined up in 69 straight matches, also saying he is recovering well from a surprise right ankle reconstruction.
 
"It was something that I thought was going to be a clean-up, but then (about) half-an-hour or an hour before going in, it was decided that it was going to be more of a substantial surgery," he said.
 
Using special treadmills that allow the user to run without putting all of their body weight on to their legs, Riewoldt has been able to train.
 
"It's come on well. I've started running at 60 per cent of my body weight and progressed over the week up to 80 per cent. Hopefully next week, I'll be out on the grass having a slow trod around," he said.      
 
He is expected to be available for day one of pre-season but will likely be managed until Chrismas.
 
It will be a different looking Tigers side in 2017, with the club adding onballers Dion Prestia and Josh Caddy, along with ruckman Toby Nankervis. Forwards Brett Deledio and Ty Vickery have departed to Greater Western Sydney and Hawthorn respectively. Riewoldt considers Deledio among his closest friends.
 
"To lose Brett's really disappointing. To see him go was sad for me and for the footy club. Brett's in a good space with where he's gone now and where he's at and, as a mate, that's the best thing," Riewoldt said.
 
"On the flip side of that, to get two bull midfielders, that's the big thing for us."
 
Riewoldt identified Richmond's work after a stoppage as an area it had struggled with this year, and said Prestia would help help the Tigers improve in their clearance work.
 
"We've got some really good grunt midfielders but we needed someone outside, when the ball leaves the contest, to influence the game," Riewoldt said.
 
Prestia and Caddy are good friends themselves, having played together since their junior days. Both sit on 95 matches.