The 29-year-old, who had been in self-imposed exile from the New Zealand team following another breach of team discipline, makes his return to the field for his new first-class side Otago against his former team Wellington next week.
Mentioning that he had been through the worst year which could have even ended his cricketing career, Ryder said he was lucky to be alive.
"After this year, you could probably say that I've been through the worst things you could go through, for my career at least anyway," Ryder told Fairfax Media. "The drug thing, that could have been my career over if I'd been given a two-year ban, which had been a possibility. Then with what happened in Christchurch, that too could have easily been the end of it for my career. I wouldn't look at it like I've been given a second chance at life. I'm just lucky, I guess."
Ryder was in an induced coma for more than two days and spent almost a week in the hospital in late March following an incident outside a bar at Christchurch that left him with a fractured skull as well as rib injuries. While he was recovering from the assault, he was informed that he had tested positive for two stimulants which are banned in competition and was handed a six-month provisional ban on April 19.
Ryder sought information about the weight-loss supplement on the Internet and asked for advice, a fact that New Zealand's anti-doping authority, Drug Free Sport NZ, took into consideration when imposing a six-month ban rather than a two-year penalty.
"You do all the research and you find there is nothing wrong with the product. The one mistake I made was that I didn't ask Drug Free Sport New Zealand about the product," he said. "But if I had asked them, they would have basically said they couldn't find anything wrong with the product but that taking it could be a risk."
Speaking about his recovery following the assault, Ryder said his balance was so off that he struggled to walk and found it hard to breathe. "At first, I just couldn't walk properly. My balance was just so off and I was struggling to walk and the weakness was crazy," said Ryder, who indicated he would like to return to the New Zealand side one day.
"Just walking to the bathroom and back, I'd be breathless, you know, taking in big, deep breaths. It took ages to get back to normal. After being told what happened, you start thinking a bit. I mean, we've all heard the stories of guys hitting their heads and dying after being punched and falling to the ground. I look back and think I am lucky not to be dead," he said.
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