AFTER everything, he just had to know.

David Cuningham had done his waiting: 763 days of it. In rehab.

So, despite Carlton’s football department having their scheduled day off last Thursday, Cuningham called up the senior coach. He couldn’t bear to wait an extra day.

Was it happening?

“It was a phone call because I was that eager to know. I could barely hear him as well, but I got the gist of ‘you’re playing’. I saw him the next day in person,” Cuningham told Carlton Media.

“It’s been a long two years. Very frustrating on the sidelines. But it was good to come back into a 60-point win where everybody contributed really strongly . . . it was just nice to be back out there again.”

Sunday’s game marked the first time that Michael Voss had Cuningham at his disposal. It was in Round 9 of the 2021 season where, less than a minute into Carlton’s clash with Melbourne, Cuningham’s knee buckled.

It was clear from that very moment that a lengthy rehabilitation was in store. However, few could’ve expected exactly how it would transpire.

In Cuningham’s eyes, the year-long ACL-related absence was “the easiest part” of his comeback journey. There were boxes to tick, and he ticked them.

Rather, it was a persistent calf issue which kept holding Cuningham back. Not just from playing, either: after that injury in May 2021, it wasn’t until the start of this year where Cuningham even began training with the main group again.

The last fortnight of VFL football - where Cuningham shone - gave the coaching and fitness staff all the clarity they needed. Cuningham was good to go . . . but for a man who has faced numerous setbacks in the last few years, he couldn’t even bring himself to believe it until it had actually transpired.

“That was the hard part, that was the frustrating part. I think I’ve gotten it right with a different technique that hopefully holds me in good stead for the rest of the year and the rest of my career,” he said.

“[My return] has come sooner than I expected, in a way. I thought it would take more time to get going.

“It’s really nice to be in quickly and hopefully I can contribute a bit more in the coming weeks.”

There were glimpses of the Cuningham that Carlton fans have been pining to see in the senior team for quite some time. A sharp turn on centre wing, a pick-up at full speed in congestion at half-back, a few moments out of stoppage when starting at the centre bounce.

But Cuningham admitted post-match that while it was a nice first step, he had plenty he still wanted to work on.

“It wasn’t like riding a bike. I felt a bit slow at the start, getting used to the speed again,” he said.

“Each game, I’ll try and get better at different aspects of my game.”

Just don’t expect to hear too much from him from now on, as is the David Cuningham way. 

Naturally a private person, a 10-second video of him walking back onto the MCG for the first time (as seen above) was quickly met with a smile and “alright, that’s enough”. And he’s hoping his rare venture to Media Street isn’t met with too many interviews in the future.

“Hopefully this is the last one!”