Footy star Chad Wingard shares huge announcement about his love life after staring down the barrel of retirement

Just eight months ago, Chad Wingard’s career was on the rocks. Thanks to the support of his loving partner, he now has a new contract, is nearing his return to the AFL and is engaged.

The injured Hawthorn star took to social media on Friday to reveal that his long-term partner Lily Lloyd ‘said yes’ when he romantically proposed to her at a Victorian winery among the vineyards.

Fellow Hawk Jarman Impey wrote: ‘Congratulations!!! Sending our love’

Hawthorn teammates Shaun Burgoyne, Connor MacDonald and Nick Watson also wished the couple well, along with a host of AFL stars from other clubs.

The couple showed off the ring and Wingard’s tattoo in honor of Lilly Lloyd to their supporters

Wingard has credited Lilly Lloyd with giving him strength in his recovery from a serious leg injury

Wingard is currently sidelined after rupturing his Achilles tendon last August and was eyeing a return for the Hawks in May.

It was initially thought that star Hawk could be sidelined for up to 12 months, with the club temporarily dropping the half-forward from the list to manage their 2024 squad.

It was one of the most pivotal moments in the Hawks star’s career and as he was given a new contract for 2024, he thanked Lilly Lloyd for her support.

“(She) helped me get through it,” he said.

‘She played a central role in the first two to six weeks.

‘I was in a cast and had to lift my leg twenty hours a day for almost two weeks.

‘I couldn’t really cook, I was on two crutches and in a cast.

“If I didn’t have someone to help me… just to say, ‘It’s going to be okay, these are the steps we’re going to take, we’ll be back,’ I don’t know what I would have done.”

Wingard has been sidelined since August with an Achilles injury that threatened to end his AFL career

The Hawks half-forward is back in training and looking forward to a return to footy in the VFL in May

Now the club’s medical staff have estimated he will return for the sixth or seventh round of the VFL season in the first half of May.

Wingard will then have to impress coach Sam Mitchell to force his way into the Hawks’ new forward position.

It was a terrifying injury for the Hawthorn star, who admitted this season that he thought retirement had been his only option.

“As soon as the injury happened, my first thought was, this could be it,” he said.

“I didn’t want my last moment in the AFL to be injured five minutes into a game.”

However, Hawthorn’s head of football, Robert McCartney, quickly moved to assure Wingard he would return.

“Rob, the general manager of the Hawks, said to me straight after, ‘Mate, we’re going to take care of you,’” Wingard says.

“It was pretty powerful, considering it could be nine to 12 months before I could play again.”