Canberra Raiders captain Terry Campese looks to NFL star Adrian Peterson as he recovers from knee injury Terry Campese training in Canberra on an anti-gravity treadmill. Minnesota Vikings star Adrian Peterson. TERRY Campese found his inspiration watching videos of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, the NFL's $96 million man. Restricted to playing just eight games for the Raiders in the past two seasons, Campese was searching for answers about the complexities of overcoming a second ACL reconstruction on his left knee. In NFL running back Peterson, the Raiders captain found hope. Peterson is the American football superstar who has completely revolutionised the comeback trail from a torn anterior cruciate ligament this year. This time 12 months ago, he suffered every footballer's worst nightmare, a torn ACL injury. It prompted the usual round of questions about whether Peterson would ever return the same player in terms of stepping, stopping, propping and jinking. Just nine months later, Peterson was back on deck for the Vikings in round one after undergoing surgery six days after suffering the injury. Today, Peterson leads the NFL for rushing yards, is in the running to be crowned this season's MVP and is being referred to as one of the all-time great injury comeback stories. Raiders captain Campese has used Peterson's incredible recovery as a blueprint for his own. He was under the knife four days after rupturing his ACL, off crutches after three weeks and out of a leg brace in six weeks. "Reading up on it, I looked at Adrian Peterson and the way he went about his recovery and the processes he went through," Campese said. When I learnt that he'd also done his ACL I wanted to learn what he did to get it right again. I watch a lot of the NFL and I've always thought he was a freak of a player. I watched videos of him just looking to learn as much as possible. I only double checked on him the other day and they were saying he looks more athletic, more agile and faster than what he was before the injury. If that's the case, then that can happen for anyone. Canberra coach David Furner is already on record saying Campese may not be ready to return until at least round five. But with back-up halves Josh McCrone and Sam Williams fit, the Raiders can afford the luxury of giving the captain time. Doctors have told the Canberra playmaker his leg can return stronger than ever after grafting the patella tendon out of his right knee and inserting it in his left. A meticulous trainer, Campese has spent countless hours icing, performing co-contractions of his quadriceps and sliding up and down a timber floor at his Canberra home working on range of movement. More recently, he's begun running on the same style of anti-gravity treadmill favoured by NASA astronauts, designed to lessen the impact of his body weight. A tick over eight months since he suffered the injury on April 11, Campese will begin full-contact training in the new year. When he makes it back into the NRL, his numbers from the past five seasons dictate Campese is due for a change of luck. In 2008, Campese played 25 of a possible 25 NRL games. In 2009, he played 23 of 24 and only missed one because he was absent on State of Origin duty with NSW. In 2010, he played 26 of 26 until his injury curse struck. With 23 minutes to go against Wests Tigers, pop. His first left knee reconstruction. Then in his comeback game midway through 2011 against North Queensland, a serious groin injury. Next year is another new season. And in Campese, Raiders fans have a reason for hope.