The words are barely believable as they leave Jack Walker's mouth. It is to the 22-year-old's immense credit that he is not only willing to share the personal hell of the last two years, but the fact he is managing to raise a smile about it.
To have undergone one operation by the age of 22 would be mentally tough. Two would be exhausting. Walker, one of the most mercurially talented players to have emerged from the Leeds Rhinos academy in recent years, has had seven. Not only that, he was warned last year his career was over had operation number seven not worked.
It all began in seemingly innocuous fashion. Walker snapped the Linsfranc part of his foot, a joint complex that includes bones and ligaments which connect the midfoot and forefoot. Further scans showed that had included three breaks in the foot. "That operation was fairly routine - or it was supposed to be," Walker tells Rugby League Live.
