It was a well-timed lead – just the type Jonathan Brown had tried to help teach Michael Close a year earlier.

Close came up to meet a delivery from the right boot of Jack Redden as time on approached in the second quarter of the round-two clash against North Melbourne.

The youngster looked poised to mark just inside the boundary line on the Medallion Club wing of Etihad Stadium.

But he fumbled ever so slightly. Going for a second bite of the cherry, he landed. And then he slid. Then, with the momentum of the lead, Close's left knee buckled. Just 18 minutes old, his third year at the Brisbane Lions was over.

While it was the end of his season, it was just the start of the saga. The Lions were aggrieved. What role had the artificial turf on which Close landed played in his downfall?

Suddenly, a 20-year-old key forward of just 15 games and 10 goals' experience was back-page news.

Close is reluctant to delve too deeply into what role the ground played in his ACL tear. But he says the publicity of eight months ago did not overly perturb him.

"I was OK with all that," he said this week. "They mentioned me by name but [the focus] wasn't really solely on me. It was on what actually happened.

"It wasn't about me personally. It's about what actually happened with my foot, where did it go, where did it go, did it hit the thing first? Did it contribute to it?"

Legal avenues were nevertheless explored. For a while in April it looked as though the Close incident was going to be a storyline for the year.

An AFL report eventually deemed the surface safe, and everyone appeared to move on.

Close though, could not move on as quickly as most. When attention turned to the next story, he still had to endure a year of rehabilitation – an unfamiliar experience for the Victorian, who had never before experienced a serious injury.

While he says not much surprised him about the experience, being away from the main group was difficult.

He highlights how strange it was returning to training and partaking in unfamiliar drills that had been introduced since his injury.

"They tell you to expect it, but it's pretty hard to know what it's actually going to feel like, until you actually go through it."

His experience was at least made easier by the club's extensive injury list, which meant there was always company in the rehab group.

Jackson Paine and Claye Beams were both on similar timelines in their recovery, and Close notes how they helped each other through a challenging year.

After a minor ankle hiccup last week, Close is now participating in almost the entire training load. The yearning to return is palpable in his voice.

A hard worker known for his endurance between the arcs, Close admits the excitement has occasionally got the better of him, forcing coaches to intervene.

"Coming into training, I have to get pulled back. Sometimes I go a bit overboard, because I'm so excited to get out there with the boys."

He can't wait for the chance to build on 2014, a year that began with Close sharing a forward line with a tiring and battered Brown.

"It was a big year for me. It does feel like a long time ago, but I know that if I keep out on the park, I'll get it all back again."

Brown has retired, but now Close is striving to secure a key forward spot in a suddenly competitive field that includes Jono Freeman, ex-Geelong goalkicker Josh Walker and No.2 draft pick Josh Schache.

"It's been a bit of a struggle for the last few years having a functional forward line. So hopefully this year we have some good key forwards and we can have a big year together."