After dislocating his shoulder in a pre-season training mishap, Carlton young gun Luke Mitchell has made his return to the football field.

It was an unlucky blow for the 20 year old rookie who has spent the past three months restricted to the rehab room recovering from a full latarjet shoulder reconstruction.
 
“I knew instantly that I was in trouble as I went into a ruck contest at training as I got a really awkward knock to is, so I saw the doctor straight away and he pretty much confirmed the worst,” he said.
 
“The hardest thing to comprehend was probably that I had done all the hard work in Qatar and Abu Dhabi and was feeling really fit and positive about where my body was at, so it was a huge blow mentally as well.”
 
Luke spent some time away from the Club after his injury and after 14 weeks on the sidelines returned to the VFL last weekend, playing with the Northern Blues reserves team.
 
“I played about 70% of the match last weekend and I felt pretty good, so the plan from here on out is to start getting some games under my belt and try and improve on where I was before I got injured,” he said.