He had several surgeries to remove floating bone fragments from his distraught left hip, prolonged rehabilitation and a modified training regime to make an apparent full recovery.
When he made his return in round 19, he continued to show good signs with another 3 goal haul against Collingwood, helping to result in Essendon's third win for the season.
Johns returned to the East Fremantle Football Club in a full-forward role in 2009, and later played in country Victoria.
At the end of the 2009 season, Johns was involved in a dispute with East Fremantle when he did not come back after an off-season trip.
[citation needed] Johns played in multiple grand finals with the team, losing in 2013 and 2014 before winning in 2017[4] and 2018, retiring after the 2018 season.