AFTER a session where he expects some of his team-mates to have covered distances of around 16-17km, Alex Mirkov admits he is quite tired going into a scheduled interview with Carlton Media.”Sorry if I don’t give you much” is the comment as he literally walks into the room.But when the interview begins, he wants to convey the overwhelming feeling he is now experiencing. It’s not exhaustion—it’s more gratitude.Mirkov last spoke with Carlton Media almost a year ago, outlining his 2023 campaign goals and support for the growth of the Old Dark Navy Blues.Now, 12 months later, he is not talking about his support for the club, but rather about the club’s support for him.In May of last year, a leaky aortic valve was discovered in Mirkov’s heart, which necessitated an operation. From there, the waiting game began, which he described as “a pretty difficult time.”Eight weeks passed before Mirkov went into surgery on August 1 with Peter Skillington’s permission. “We were looking for the best person for the job, shout out to him.”He says the surgery took “about six to seven hours,” with a few days in the ICU and then another week and a half in the ward. That was the beginning of Mirkov’s long and patient journey.But he never felt that he was doing it alone.When Carlton ran to September, with cries of being “stronger together”, Mirkov experienced it.“All the boys surrounded me. They sent me a video when I was in the hospital, “Vossy” came to visit, about 10 guys came through.”The support from the club was unreal.”Mirkov recalls a three-month period when he did nothing. The best way he felt the time could pass as quickly as possible was to keep in touch with his peers, his teammates.He did everything he could to keep busy, and he did it mostly through the football club. As he recovered, he attended games, rallied around the playing group at training and attended team meetings whenever possible, while also making the trip to the Gabba for the pre-final.After a slow and steady approach, Mirkov happily announces that he has now found a good spot.According to him, everything went according to plan as he built up his training base as the pre-season continued before returning to full training at the turn of the year.“I still tried as much as I could, I tried to stay in touch, which was very important at that time. It felt much faster than three months.“The surgeon talked about keeping the pulse low. I remember the semi-final in Melbourne, I was standing next to my girlfriend and she was more panicked about my heart rate than the game because my Apple Watch was going up when Blake won!“I got a lot of text messages, a lot of phone calls. I appreciate everyone – my family, friends, girlfriend. He had to carry some weight because of my complaining.“I can’t complain now. I’m fully trained, in the swing of things. I’m just happy to be out with the boys and have fun.”You can tell right away that Mirkov enjoyed being back with his teammates. He particularly likes Jesse Motlop’s work before the start of the season: “he’s pretty tough for a little guy.”And while Mirkov’s hopes have not wavered in the past year – he desperately wants to one day wear the navy blue of his childhood – he now looks at things a little differently.“My original plan was just to get back on track. I’ve prioritized my health for the last five months or so, not so much thinking about football as thinking about how I function as a person,” he says with a nervous laugh.”A lot of what we do at the club revolves around the goal . A big part of my goal when I come to the club is to make the most of the opportunity and the time I have here. With everything I’ve been through last year, I wake up every morning and see the scar on my chest – it gives me some perspective.“That serves my purpose. About opportunity, taking advantage of it and doing your best to succeed. “Time will tell. Hopefully I can go out, get to the MCG one day, fit and shoot and better than ever.”.