Sidelined by injury, physio Lachie finds hope in his own road to recovery

As a physiotherapist, Lachie Gee is used to guiding people through serious injuries.

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Lachie Gee at LIFT gym as part of his job. Inset: In action for Old Scotch. Pictures by Josh Partridge and Phillip Biggs

The 26-year-old, who also plays football for Old Scotch, went to step past an opponent when his knee twisted, and he knew straight away what he'd done.

"We both just looked at each other and went, 'yeah, that's not what it's meant to feel like'," Gee said.

"When I realised what it was, the first thing was footy, like, 'that's footy gone for a year pretty much' from a playing perspective'."

But Gee's mind quickly turned to the positives and how it could help his profession.

"It's a really good opportunity as a physio to actually go through the whole journey myself," he said.

"ACLs are definitely my favourite injury to treat, and now I can use this as a bit of an opportunity to get that next level understanding of what it's actually like to go through the whole process."

"Going through that journey, there's obviously the physical side of things, but not many people know as much about the mental toll it has.

"A good way I've had it explained to me by some athletes is when your whole personality or identity is based around being involved in sport, and then suddenly you can't actually fulfil that part of your identity, it feels like you lose a part of yourself."

We both just looked at each other and went, 'yeah, that's not what it's meant to feel like'.

Gee believes it will help him become more empathetic to his clients' needs and develop more understanding.

"Even just explaining something like asking a client to jump, in my mind, if someone asked me to jump right now, I'd be like, 'I don't really want to do that'," he said.

Turning to social media to break the news, something he described as "not his usual scene", Gee was overwhelmed by the support he received with more than 400 likes and 30 comments.

An East Launceston junior, Gee also played development league at Launceston and represented Tasmania at an under-age level before heading to Victoria for university where he played at Uni Blues in the VAFA.

Gee in action for Launceston in 2018. Picture file

"That was an awesome experience from both a footy and physio perspective, footy wise getting to play with ex-AFL players and VFL-listed played would awesome.

"Then from a physio perspective, all the AFL boys would say how great that club is from a medical perspective," he said.

"We'd have two sports doctors, one of them being Peter Brukner, who has written what's basically a sports medicine bible and is pretty well known, and had like six physios and S and C's (strength and conditioning coaches)."

But Gee was "always going to play at Scotch at some point".

Having played several one-off games, including the full 2020 Shield season, Gee returned to the Thistles in 2025 and has been the under 18.5s coach since.

Signing on for a third year next season, he's looking to put his energy into that, as well as whatever else comes his way.

"I'm looking forward to helping out through other ways - coaching, physio, committee - anything really," he said.

"Although I won't be able to play on the field, I'll try and play as much of a role for the club as I can off the field.

"I obviously enjoy the on-field stuff, but I enjoy the off-field stuff just as much, if not more, to be honest."

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