Crutches to grand final: City pair's special bond
Max Caputo and Alessandro Lopane are about to play in a grand final they both once thought was out of their reach.
The talented young duo both suffered awful long-term injuries in pre-season.
Caputo, 19, broke his ankle in a freak accident when his studs got caught in the turf at training, while Lopane, 21, went in for a knee clean-up and needed far more complex surgery than he'd ever expected.
Now both will play at a packed AAMI Park in Saturday's A-League Men decider against Melbourne Victory.
"They had to actually, like, take my kneecap off and then put the cartilage that tore off back and then put the kneecap back on and then stitch it up," Lopane told AAP.
"And it was all up to the healing process, really, until I could actually start walking again.
"It healed really well, and now I'm back.
"Where I am now, it's a great feeling. I wasn't even expecting to be able to be touching the pitch this season, but thank God I am.
"Now that we're in this position, I'm even more excited because to play a first grand final after an injury like that, it feels even more special."
The one thing that made the process easier? Having someone to share the hard rehab road with.
"Me and Max, we were holding hands during our rehab. We literally did everything together," said Lopane, who has scored one goal and notched two assists in eight games since returning.
"When I was in that time that I knew I was getting surgery, Max unfortunately had to have surgery also.
"So we both did our rehab the exact same days, and we were literally in the gym together non-stop until we got the chance to get back on to the pitch.
"Me and Max never really thought we would (play) when we were on those crutches and barely able to walk.
"I'm just extremely grateful for the physios that they were there day in, day out for both of us, to be honest.
"I'm grateful that I had him by my side and we both got through it."
Caputo was last year backed to start ahead of then-captain and all-time A-League Men leading goal scorer Jamie Maclaren.
Since returning from injury in February, he has started all 14 games, scoring five goals and assisting another.
"To think at the start of the season I'd be maybe playing in a grand final at the end of the season, it's all worth it," Caputo said.
"When you're lonely at the start of rehab, you don't know what (direction) the season is going to take, and now you're here."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Dutch delight for Scotsman on moving day
Scotland's Connor Syme will take a two-shot lead into the final round of the DP World Tour's KLM Open in Amsterdam after a superb bogey-free 66. The 29-year-old holed a 40-foot eagle putt at the third on Saturday and added three birdies on his back nine, including at the final two holes, to overhaul Sweden's Joakim Lagergren (71) at the top. For the third day in succession the weather forced long delays to the event, with the course waterlogged in places during the morning as the final few players wrapped up a second round delayed by high winds. Syme navigated the conditions perfectly and admitted he was "buzzing" after his round. "Obviously a bonus to finish with a couple (of birdies) towards the end but overall really, really pleased," he added. Compatriot Richie Ramsay (71) finished the round in a share of third place with Portugal's Ricardo Gouveia (73) and Italian Francesco Laporta (69), six shots off the lead and four behind Lagergren. "Obviously there's a bit of a gap at the moment for me and Joakim but with the weather tomorrow it can change so much, so quickly," Syme said. "I would love to do it, hopefully I can play my game tomorrow and I can do it. I'll just try to play one shot at a time and get that mindset from the start, and what will be will be." Australia's Jason Scrivener (69) is in a nine-way tie for 13th at one under after a steady round including just three birdies and one bogey. With AAP.
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Dutch delight for Scotsman on moving day
Scotland's Connor Syme will take a two-shot lead into the final round of the DP World Tour's KLM Open in Amsterdam after a superb bogey-free 66. The 29-year-old holed a 40-foot eagle putt at the third on Saturday and added three birdies on his back nine, including at the final two holes, to overhaul Sweden's Joakim Lagergren (71) at the top. For the third day in succession the weather forced long delays to the event, with the course waterlogged in places during the morning as the final few players wrapped up a second round delayed by high winds. Syme navigated the conditions perfectly and admitted he was "buzzing" after his round. "Obviously a bonus to finish with a couple (of birdies) towards the end but overall really, really pleased," he added. Compatriot Richie Ramsay (71) finished the round in a share of third place with Portugal's Ricardo Gouveia (73) and Italian Francesco Laporta (69), six shots off the lead and four behind Lagergren. "Obviously there's a bit of a gap at the moment for me and Joakim but with the weather tomorrow it can change so much, so quickly," Syme said. "I would love to do it, hopefully I can play my game tomorrow and I can do it. I'll just try to play one shot at a time and get that mindset from the start, and what will be will be." Australia's Jason Scrivener (69) is in a nine-way tie for 13th at one under after a steady round including just three birdies and one bogey. With AAP.
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Veteran Aussie declares he's bowling better than ever
Buoyed by an outstanding IPL, Australia quick Josh Hazlewood feels he is bowling better than at any point in his decorated career. Struck down by niggling injuries in recent years, Hazlewood could be forgiven for starting to taper having already taken 279 wickets from 72 Tests. But the fit-again 34-year-old is going to give selectors significant headaches when picking the XI for the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's, starting on Wednesday. It is an identical dilemma to two years ago when Scott Boland was chosen ahead of Hazlewood, who had been recovering from side issues, for the ultimately successful decider against India. "I was quite close last time, I just had more of an interrupted IPL leading into that and wasn't quite up to scratch," Hazlewood said on Saturday at Australia's training base in Beckenham. "But I feel in much better place this time around, and I think in any format, my numbers over the last two years have been pretty good, so I've got a lot to fall back on. "Skill wise, I still feel like I'm bowling the best I have in my career and it's just a matter of the body holding up, which it has been in the last few months." Hazlewood managed just two Tests last summer, breaking down at the Gabba with a calf injury, as Australia won back the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time in a decade. The right-armer also missed the two-Test trip to Sri Lanka, played on spin-friendly pitches, to make sure he was ready to perform later in the year. Although he did suffer a slight shoulder injury, Hazlewood ultimately played a starring role in Royal Challengers Bangalore's breakthrough IPL title triumph last Tuesday. Hazlewood, who also won an IPL title with Chennai in 2021, finished with 22 wickets for the tournament - the third most by any bowler. Coming off a T20 workload, he has less than a week to get ready for his first Test since December. "I ticked over some good overs just before the (IPL) final in Ahmedabad, in different weather than (England's), so it was quite a tough session," Hazlewood said. "Then every time you play a game in IPL, you're probably going to get almost seven or eight overs in when you factor in warm ups." This AAP article was made possible by support from Amazon Prime Video, which is broadcasting the World Test Championship final. Buoyed by an outstanding IPL, Australia quick Josh Hazlewood feels he is bowling better than at any point in his decorated career. Struck down by niggling injuries in recent years, Hazlewood could be forgiven for starting to taper having already taken 279 wickets from 72 Tests. But the fit-again 34-year-old is going to give selectors significant headaches when picking the XI for the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's, starting on Wednesday. It is an identical dilemma to two years ago when Scott Boland was chosen ahead of Hazlewood, who had been recovering from side issues, for the ultimately successful decider against India. "I was quite close last time, I just had more of an interrupted IPL leading into that and wasn't quite up to scratch," Hazlewood said on Saturday at Australia's training base in Beckenham. "But I feel in much better place this time around, and I think in any format, my numbers over the last two years have been pretty good, so I've got a lot to fall back on. "Skill wise, I still feel like I'm bowling the best I have in my career and it's just a matter of the body holding up, which it has been in the last few months." Hazlewood managed just two Tests last summer, breaking down at the Gabba with a calf injury, as Australia won back the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time in a decade. The right-armer also missed the two-Test trip to Sri Lanka, played on spin-friendly pitches, to make sure he was ready to perform later in the year. Although he did suffer a slight shoulder injury, Hazlewood ultimately played a starring role in Royal Challengers Bangalore's breakthrough IPL title triumph last Tuesday. Hazlewood, who also won an IPL title with Chennai in 2021, finished with 22 wickets for the tournament - the third most by any bowler. Coming off a T20 workload, he has less than a week to get ready for his first Test since December. "I ticked over some good overs just before the (IPL) final in Ahmedabad, in different weather than (England's), so it was quite a tough session," Hazlewood said. "Then every time you play a game in IPL, you're probably going to get almost seven or eight overs in when you factor in warm ups." This AAP article was made possible by support from Amazon Prime Video, which is broadcasting the World Test Championship final. Buoyed by an outstanding IPL, Australia quick Josh Hazlewood feels he is bowling better than at any point in his decorated career. Struck down by niggling injuries in recent years, Hazlewood could be forgiven for starting to taper having already taken 279 wickets from 72 Tests. But the fit-again 34-year-old is going to give selectors significant headaches when picking the XI for the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's, starting on Wednesday. It is an identical dilemma to two years ago when Scott Boland was chosen ahead of Hazlewood, who had been recovering from side issues, for the ultimately successful decider against India. "I was quite close last time, I just had more of an interrupted IPL leading into that and wasn't quite up to scratch," Hazlewood said on Saturday at Australia's training base in Beckenham. "But I feel in much better place this time around, and I think in any format, my numbers over the last two years have been pretty good, so I've got a lot to fall back on. "Skill wise, I still feel like I'm bowling the best I have in my career and it's just a matter of the body holding up, which it has been in the last few months." Hazlewood managed just two Tests last summer, breaking down at the Gabba with a calf injury, as Australia won back the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time in a decade. The right-armer also missed the two-Test trip to Sri Lanka, played on spin-friendly pitches, to make sure he was ready to perform later in the year. Although he did suffer a slight shoulder injury, Hazlewood ultimately played a starring role in Royal Challengers Bangalore's breakthrough IPL title triumph last Tuesday. Hazlewood, who also won an IPL title with Chennai in 2021, finished with 22 wickets for the tournament - the third most by any bowler. Coming off a T20 workload, he has less than a week to get ready for his first Test since December. "I ticked over some good overs just before the (IPL) final in Ahmedabad, in different weather than (England's), so it was quite a tough session," Hazlewood said. "Then every time you play a game in IPL, you're probably going to get almost seven or eight overs in when you factor in warm ups." This AAP article was made possible by support from Amazon Prime Video, which is broadcasting the World Test Championship final.
