A stint on the sidelines due to injury in the final weeks of the season left Melbourne playmaker Jahrome Hughes feeling like he had "been out for the whole year".

The 30-year-old endured a horror run of injuries to finish the regular season, managing just one game in the two months before the preliminary final clash.

Hughes' return in the preliminary final was one many, including coach Craig Bellamy , was unsure would happen, given he had surgery on a broken wrist three weeks ago. Advertisement

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Just five weeks prior to breaking his wrist, Hughes had been forced to the sidelines due to a shoulder dislocation, which did not require surgery.

He lasted 30 minutes on his return from that shoulder injury before

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