Whiteley's last shot to revive playing career

SPOTLIGHT: Warren Whiteley has not given up hope of playing again and he is set to undergo surgery at the end of the year to give himself one last shot.

Whiteley, 32, has been plagued with knee injuries over the years and he has not set foot on a rugby field as a player since early 2019.

Instead, the former Bok skipper joined the Lions coaching team this year during the Super Rugby season.

In an interview with Independent Online, Whiteley revealed that, despite rest and rehabilitation, his knee has still  not fully healed and he has now turned to surgery to get the results he wants

“I’ve seen doctors up here, I’ve seen a doctor in Durban and most recently I’ve been in contact with a surgeon in Cape Town, who’s likely to do the operation,” said Whiteley.

“I’ve spoken to as many doctors as possible to get different opinions and they’re all in agreement. If I’m to get better and if the knee is to heal properly I have to have another operation.”

He added: “I’ve tried to avoid this specific operation because I know it’s going to be a long healing process; up to a year, and maybe even longer. I’m going to have to be on crutches for a while and I don’t want to be on crutches when rugby starts up again. It’s the reason why I’m considering doing the operation at the end of the year during the team’s pre-season.”

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Whiteley said he will not rush into making a decision about his future once the operation is over

“There’s constant pain and it won’t get better without surgery. My history with knee injuries doesn’t help, so it’s going to be a complicated thing to have to deal with,” Whiteley added.

“I’ll see what happens over time, but before I get to make any decision about playing, I want to first be able to play with my kids in the backyard and not feel pain.

“I want to play hockey, netball and rugby, I want to sprint and run with my kids; that’s the first thing I want to get out of the surgery. What happens after that can be decided at a later stage.”

Source: Independent Online