The road to recovery after a gruesome injury can be a lonely place.
While your teammates are training and playing, you have to spend most of your time away from the group rehabbing and hoping to one day to get back to that point. It could certainly take a mental toll.
It always helps to get some encouragement along the way, as pointed out by Galway's Paul Conroy.
The midfielder broke both of his legs after a clash with Sean O'Shea during a Super 8s meeting with Kerry in 2018, and it would be over 18 months before he featured at inter-county level again.
The recovery was tough at times, although some kind words from Ireland captain Seamus Coleman did give him a boost. Coleman suffered serious leg break of his own against Wales back in 2017, although the Donegal man has since made a full recovery.
Paul Conroy reveals unexpected call from Seamus Coleman
Speaking after being unveiled as the GAA's Ambasadóir na Gaeilge, Conroy recalled how the Everton man got in touch with him out of the blue.
I was 29 at the time. Some people would say, 'You'll find it very hard to get back', and you try to stay away from them type of people.
You try and stay with the people who have the experience. At the time, I remember talking to Seamus Coleman, he gave me a ring because he had a similar injury. Things like that help you along the way...
He seen it in the media and he gave me a ring, which was brilliant. He reached out to me on Instagram and he gave me a shout and offered his support.
I was well impressed with that, I've been shouting for Everton a bit since.
David Nolan, he would have played for Connacht Rugby and he did the same thing.
It gives you comfort to talk to people who have recovered from it because they can give you a lot of advice, you know, whether it's going into the sea after a couple of weeks or a couple of months and Seamus Coleman was the same. He left himself open there for questions.
You kind of wouldn't expect it off a professional footballer even though I don't know why you wouldn't expect it but, you know, you'd just think that they wouldn't reach out to someone in the west of Ireland, but fair play to him.
A brilliant touch from Seamus Coleman, who has been more than willing to help those who have gone through similar problems in the past.
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