The Swansea City captain had only minutes before headed the Swans into the lead against their League One opponents before going down under challenge and instantly knowing that something was wrong.
Initial fears suggested he may be out for the season before reductions to three months and then six to eight weeks meant good news although the frustration of having to sit by and watch the promotion push will be evident.
“I knew it was my ligaments straight away,”Monk told Wales on Sunday. “When they’re intact, there’s a solid feeling when you bend your knee, an end point when you bend it.
“When they were testing it in the changing room it was very lax and that’s when I started to fear the worst because the knee shouldn’t do that.
“My first thought had been that it wasn’t as bad as my old injury, the pain wasn’t the same and I couldn’t walk, it was ridiculous.
“But then you start worrying and I couldn’t get it out of my head that it could have been it because there was no way of knowing until I had the scan the following day. Those 24 hours were a nightmare.
“The worst, though, is when you’re in the machine for the scan. It’s just you, no-one talking you through what they’re seeing and you’re left with all these worst-case scenarios running through your head.
“It takes half an hour, but it seems like a lifetime.
“I was prepared for the worst – so the relief was huge when they said it was my medial ligaments.
“Some people are surprised by the fact I’ve said I could be back in six weeks, but I think it’s a realistic target,” he said. “But that’s what the surgeon (former England rugby star Jonathan Webb) has told me and I trust him – he saved my career last time.
“And I’m the type who will work doubly hard just to make sure I’m not caught out when I do come back – and that I can play my part for the rest of the season.”
The positive news for Monk though is that he can now be present at the birth of his child – pleasing his heavily pregnant fiance “She was worried I’d miss the birth because I’d be playing somewhere halfway across the country
“We don’t have that worry now I guess, but the baby coming does give me an extra motivation to get back fit and to my best because I have a family to think about now.”
