Bradley facing eight months out
�Press Eye Ltd Northern Ireland-14th January 2012 Credit - Picture by Lorcan Doherty/Presseye.com Power NI Dr McKenna Cup. Derry V UUJ at Celtic Park, Derry. Derry's Paddy Bradley.
DERRY captain Paddy Bradley has admitted inter-county career could be over sustaining a second his second cruciate ligament injury in 18 months.
Michael Wilson reports
The Glenullin star picked up the injury training with his club in preparation for last weekend’s Kilmacud Sevens and will be out for at least eight months but he claimed he is unsure he can give the same level of commitment as that which saw him return from the previous injury which ruled him out of the 2011 Championship.
“I got the results of the scan last week so I knew it was the cruciate but it was only when I talked to the consultant that I knew I would have to go through the whole operation,” explained Bradley, “He assures me that if I go through the operation and it is a success then there is no reason why I couldn’t play football but at 31 I don’t know if I want to. I don’t know if it is possible because I have two young children now and have taken on more responsibility at school.
“Where there was maybe a drive to prove people wrong last time because some had said I wasn’t going to play for Derry again, I don’t know if that motivation is going to be there this time.
“If I’m interested in playing for Derry again I will have to spent my November and December in the gym flat out. The rehab I did last time, I took fully on board, I never cut any corners, I was doing sessions twice a day in the gym. I was there at six in the morning and again at 6pm in the evening after work and I just don’t know if I can give that commitment again.
“Maybe after the operation I will see things differently but, as I said, I had planned to take it easy in November and December but we will see how things go after the operation.”
The news will be a major blow to Brian McIver and Bradley revealed he had already spoken to the new county manager.
“Brian rang last week when he heard the news but it was more or less just to sympathise and said it was hard luck after I had went through before. He said now wasn’t the time to be talking about my future, he told me just to worry about getting myself back up and running. We never discussed my future with the county but I appreciated the fact he took time to ring.”
Despite the setback Bradley was reflective about the injury and said he would reassess the situation after the operation which will take place at the end of October.
“Bad Luck is bad luck. The whole way through cruciate rehab the physios and doctors tell you to make sure you are strengthening up your so-called ‘good leg’ as well and I had been doing that but I was talking to one of the previous Derry doctors and I think what must happen is you are watching your ‘bad leg’ carefully but your ‘good leg’ is taking more of the pressure and no matter what sort of extra weights you are doing, there comes a time when the pressure tells.
“I will get the operation at the end of October but most cruciates take up to eight or nine months and that takes you up to next May or June, so we’ll see what things are like then and how much work I have done. There is no guarantee the rehab will be straightforward, so there is no guarantee I would even be fit to kick a ball next year. It is up in the air at the moment.”
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Tuesday 18 June 2013
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