Fremantle AFL ruckman Aaron Sandilands has dismissed rumours he had a rib removed following his heavy collision with Nic Naitanui last month, and insists he holds no hard feelings towards the star Eagle.
Sandilands suffered a punctured lung and broken ribs after copping a knee to the back from Naitanui in the round-three western derby.
The 211cm Docker was taken to hospital, and later underwent surgery to have titanium plates inserted into his ribs.
Sandilands is still at least a month away from resuming, but he gave Dockers fans a dose of good news on Wednesday when he signed a one-year contract extension with the club.
The 33-year-old will visit his surgeon next week to get a more-accurate time frame on when he'll be able to return to playing duties.
But he flat out denied he was forced to have any of his ribs removed.
"It's amazing how stories get spread around," Sandilands said.
"All I know is I had a couple of plates inserted, and I'm headed in the right direction.
"When I go back (to playing), I'll be 100 per cent.
"I think the ribs will be pretty strong with a bit of titanium there, so I don't think there should be too many issues."
Sandilands said Naitanui had since made contact with him through Fremantle assistant coach Simon Eastaugh, who used to work at the Eagles as their ruck coach.
So are there any hard feelings?
"Not at all - it's part of the game," Sandilands said.
"Anyone in that situation would have done exactly the same."
The last-placed Dockers are yet to register a win this season, but Sandilands says the decision to extend his career has been an easy one to make.
And there's also the chance he could play on beyond 2017.
"I still love my footy. As long as I can keep contributing, I'm happy to keep going," Sandilands said.
"We've got a really young, strong group that are hungry for success, and I still want to be part of that."
Sandilands is a four-time All-Australian with 241 AFL games to his name.
But his mantle of being the tallest active player in the competition at 211cm has been passed on to Collingwood's American recruit Mason Cox, who stands at 211.4cm.
Cox has shown some impressive signs over his opening two games, and Sandilands has been a curious onlooker.
"It was great to see. It's good that other countries are getting involved," Sandilands said.
"He's taken some great steps, and looks like he's going to be a good player for Collingwood.
"We're different players. But the way he's come in and been able to take marks up forward and compete in the ruck shows pretty good signs."
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