A season-ending knee injury had Ben O'Donnell convinced he'd be watching the Tokyo Olympics from a distance, with absolutely no chance of pulling on the Australian jersey for the Rugby Sevens competition.
Forgive him for being a tiny bit pleased this week when the Tokyo Games were postponed to 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
I have seen (teammates) walking around and they keep telling me that I'm the only bloke that is smiling around here," O'Donnell said in a television interview with the Associated Press. For me, it's a little silver lining, a little chance, a little creak in the door.
Still a long way to go, though. I've still got over nine months of rehabilitation and still need to force my way back into that team."