Conal Keaney has opened up about the accident that left him with a serious lateral ligament knee injury last summer, admitting he was lucky not to lose his life.
Keaney's season was brought to a crushing end when he was left with a cracked bone in his ankle and a torn cruciate ligament after his motorbike collided with a van last July.
He had to watch on as Dublin reached the All-Ireland SHC semi-final, a match they went on to lose to Tipperary, and as yet the Ballyboden St Enda's clubman has no idea when he will be able to return to Anthony Daly's panel.
Although frustrated to be still sidelined, the former Dublin footballer knows it could have been much worse and he is grateful to be in with a chance of lining out for his county again.
"I'm just grateful to get back to where I am at the moment and if I see some action again it'll be great. It's great to be involved with Dublin," he is quoted as saying in the Irish Daily Mirror.
"When I was lying in the hospital that time I didn’t think I'd ever get to put on a Dublin jersey again so hopefully I'm getting a little bit nearer to it."
Despite missing out on playing in an All-Ireland SHC semi-final, Keaney did not wallow in self pity, preferring to concentrate on his recovery.
"It's something that happened and you just get on with it. I’m doing what I can to get back and hopefully will see some action this year," he added.
"I always try to put the best foot forward but in the back of my mind I know it's a very serious injury so that's why I'm giving it every chance."
Keaney does not know when he will be able to make his return - for a time he feared he would miss the entire 2012 campaign - but he knows he will have to be patient and he is taking a cautious approach to his recovery.
"It’s very hard when I have no goal at the end of it or date to come back. They are very hesitant to give any indication," he went on/
"You can obviously pick dates but previously lads came back too early and done it again. I'm just being very cautious and making sure I do everything right so that when I do come back I'm one hundred percent."