Carlton forward Levi Casboult put his body through a "mind-numbing" recovery process to ensure his remarkable return from injury in Sunday's game against Geelong went off without a hitch.
Casboult revealed a device known as a body flow machine assisted in speeding up his recovery from a depressed tibia in his left leg.
The machine sends gentle electrodes through the body's tissue and is used by AFL clubs as a treatment method to allow players to recover from injuries faster.
"I spent a lot of time in the ice baths, (using the) body flow machine, with electrodes going through your body and a lot of activation stuff," Casboult said after the 19-point win over the Cats.
"It's been a bit mind numbing but we got there in the end."
The Blues' power forward suffered what was originally thought to be a broken tibia in his left leg in the Blues' win over Port Adelaide in round eight. That was then revised to a hairline fracture after Casboult healed quicker than originally expected.
The middle of last week was the first time Casboult had an inkling he could return sooner than first thought and the 'secret' recovery session he and Matthew Kreuzer held on Friday morning confirmed he was right to go.
"Initially it wasn't as a bad as it looked," Casboult said.
"As the days went by it just got better and better and I was able to put a bit of work in over the last two weeks to get it right and eventually got out there."
Casboult, fourth in the AFL for contested marks, had seven disposals and kicked one goal in the win.
But his importance to Carlton's structure could not be underestimated as he continually launched himself for marks and created contests up forward for the Blues.
Casboult said he could not be more proud of his teammates for the resilience they displayed in the win as Carlton moved to 5-5 for the season.
Losing Marc Murphy and Liam Sumner to ankle injuries prior to quarter-time highlighted the Blues' resolve as they finished the game with eight less rotations than Geelong.
"Obviously my preparation wasn't fantastic," Casboult said.
"I was balls out in the last quarter."
