Carlton fans rejoice - skipper Marc Murphy's mysterious ankle injury is no more.
The prolonged absence of Murphy with a seemingly innocuous ankle injury after round 10 was one of the key storylines of the Blues' 2016 campaign.
Murphy hobbled off during Carlton's stirring win over Geelong at Etihad Stadium and, to the surprise of many, wasn't seen again.
Coach Brendon Bolton grew tired of answering questions about the absence of one of his best players, and the truth is no one really knew when he would return.
"My ankle's fine ... I didn't end up having surgery on it, which is good, but it was frustrating," Murphy said.
"I thought I was going to miss six weeks then ended up missing 12.
"If we were playing finals I reckon I definitely would have played the last game but where we sat with the season there was no point risking it all to play one game.
"So I've had a full pre-season ... it's been really good."
Carlton only won another two games in the absence of their skipper as injuries exacerbated the rebuilding club's shallow depth of experienced talent.
The Blues have been widely tipped in the media to take another step back in 2017 as they look to take several steps toward their premiership goal.
"You certainly hear it ... I think the expectation from the media is not really that high of Carlton this season," he said.
"But internally we're trying to improve as quick as we can.
"I think some of these young guys can improve really quickly and help us old guys win a few games of footy."
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