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Former Wallaby James O’Connor has revealed that he self-medicated an injured ankle for two years and now needs surgery to fix the problem.
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The 27-year-old, currently plying his trade with the Premiership side Sale Sharks after a three-year stint with Toulon, made the admission on social media.
“On the 3rd day of preseason in 2016, I injured my ankle at Toulon,” said O’Connor via Instagram.
“Since then I’ve been fighting to play for nearly 2 seasons!
“It got to the point where I was only training 1 session a week and injecting it with local anaesthetic just to be able to take the field.”
“I was so determined to play and win a final with Toulon that I disregarded all the signs and carelessly played on,” he continues.
O’Connor disclosed that he had reconstruction surgery on the joint before joining Sale for the start of the 2017 season.
However, the problem persisted O’Connor, who was capped internationally at 18 and owns the record for youngest Super Rugby debutante at 17.
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O’Connor insists that he played with the injured ankle, not because of pressure from Toulon or Sale but because of his desire to succeed on the field.
“I did whatever I could to get onto the field to play… 3 games on, 2 weeks off and cortisol to Platelet-rich plasma [PRP] injections became my routine!” he wrote.
“This pressure in no way came from the club. I thought I could beat this through force & never actually allowed myself to stop and heal correctly.”
O’Connor says he is back to where he was last year as a result and faces further surgery, but the club will be in control this time.
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“So now I’m here in the exact same place I was last year, 1 surgery down with another to go,” he wrote.
“But this time around we [club & I] have taken all the correct measures and discussions with my surgeon, going over all possibilities and put together a great rehab program to get me back for next season faster, stronger and pain-free!”
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