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When Tom Curry was first told the full extent of the injury that cost him almost all of last season, the Sale flanker admitted he “curled up in a ball” and cried.
After suffering pain throughout England’s World Cup campaign last year, the 26-year-old was diagnosed with femoroacetabular impingement syndrome – a condition that means the ball in the hip joint is not entirely round – and, as he prepared for surgery, was warned his career could be over.
“It was horrible,” Curry recalled. “I was lucky because I had (girlfriend) Lilla there at the time but I literally just cried. I curled up into a ball. I just couldn’t really process it – it was a surreal moment.”
Damian Griffin, professor of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Warwick, carried out a six-hour operation before Curry faced a gruelling rehabilitation process which took several months.
Twice a week, Curry travelled to Speedworks in Loughborough where he had to learn to run again.
“I tried to run and I couldn’t run,” Curry said. “I think that was the toughest hurdle to get over because I just couldn’t do it and it felt the same.
“That was a really tough period but once I got to Loughborough, I worked with some really special guys, their eye for detail is amazing and it genuinely taught me to run again.”
Curry surprised those around him with the speed of his progress, and it was then that the conversations began to shift.
“When I had done all the Speedworks stuff and I saw the surgeon again, he said, ‘My biggest worry was getting you back, this conversation is how we can make you better as a rugby player now’,” Curry recalled. “That was my big relief.”
Curry fought his way back to return in Sale’s Premiership semi-final defeat to Bath, playing a little over 30 minutes in their 31-23 loss at the start of June.
He was then immediately recalled by Steve Borthwick for England’s summer Tests against Japan and New Zealand.
Sale’s director of rugby Alex Sanderson raised concerns about putting Curry back in at the highest level so soon, but the call up was hugely important to Curry himself.
“It meant everything,” he said. “In terms of being able to have that confidence from Steve and the coaches, it was massive.
“I missed a bit of the World Cup at the start, played a bit, missed the Six Nations. I just want to repay him by getting myself fit, staying fit, and playing as well as I can really.”
Curry is known for an all-action style which makes him integral for both England and Sale. He admitted his desire to throw himself into everything he does may have aggravated the injury in the first place, but insisted he will not change as a player.
“No way,” he said. “This hasn’t happened because of contact. This has happened just because I have run a bit too much.”
But the experience has changed Curry as a person. As he thanked his family and his team-mates for helping him get through it, Curry said he is now a more mature player and man.
“I think for me it has been a big growth and step up in terms of maturing,” he said. “You have to drop a lot of ego. You can’t just go ‘I am going to do this.’ You have to realise what is going to make you better and it makes you a lot smarter. I think it has matured me a lot.”
Curry will need surgery again down the line, although exactly when is anyone’s guess. His sights are set on the shorter term as Sale prepare for their season-opener against Harlequins on Sunday.
Sanderson said the club now know “how long the piece of string is” when it comes to Curry’s physical capabilities, and he will need to manage his load this season.
“There is a rough expectation (of what I can do), but I think right now it’s just take every day as it comes, and just being really conscious,” he said. “If it’s feeling a bit stiff today, let’s relax, don’t let it get to you, chill and go again another day, and just keep going like that.”
