Christopher Joyce: I’m a positive person
The Cork full-back was prostrate until medical attention arrived; when he rose, wincing with pain in his knee, the fear was a dreaded cruciate injury.
Confirmation came within 48 hours.
“I felt it when it went,” says Joyce now.
“I felt something go and got a bit of a fright straight away, especially with the pain. I thought I might be alright, I stood up, but I knew then I was in trouble.”
The upside, if there is one to a season-ending injury, has been the encouragement Joyce has received in the weeks since.
“In fairness, the amount of messages I’ve gotten on the phone, though social media, from fellas who’ve had the injury themselves and come back, it’s been fantastic.
“And it hasn’t just been ‘good luck’ and that’s that — a lot of them have said in those messages that if I want any advice on how to in rehab and so on to get on to them, which is great.”
Joyce’s attitude is upbeat. It’s hardly a surprise that Cork manager Jimmy Barry-Murphy asked him to stay involved with the team; the Na Piarsaigh man’s positivity is genuine.
“I know a few years ago it was a really serious injury — it still is, obviously — but you can see plenty of sportspeople who come back stronger and better than they were before the injury.
“And obviously with Cork the support is very good — after the operation Declan O’Sullivan (Cork physiotherapist) will be taking care of me, so you couldn’t get better.
“There’s a lot to be positive about, and to be honest I’d be that kind of person.
“I’d prefer to be out on the field with the lads, obviously, but I spoke to Jimmy (Barry-Murphy) and Anthony (Nash), and they were hugely positive and encouraging, saying ‘make sure you’re at training and show your face’.
“It’s great to know they want you around, because it keeps you involved.
In the immediate aftermath of the injury Cork selector Johnny Crowley emphasised that the county side weren’t the only team that was going to miss Joyce. His club didn’t delay getting in touch when injury struck.
“As soon as I got back into the dressing-room that night in Croke Park the messages started coming through on the phone,” he says.
“All the Piarsaigh lads — players, selectors, the chairman — were on to me straight away to see how I was, and to make sure I was alright.”
His employers at Wisetek have also backed him — (“I’m probably going to be out of work for a couple of weeks after I have the operation, they’ve been very supportive”) — and he’s looking forward to taking those first real steps to recovery. That begins with the operation itself, he points out.
“I’m having the knee done next Thursday, what’s held it up is the swelling.
We were going to try to get it done a little earlier but getting the swelling down has been the target for the last few days.
“I’ve been icing it, doing half an hour’s cycling, spending time in the swimming pool — all of that is to get the swelling down for the operation.
“The most important thing is to get the operation done, once that’s over I know then I’m on the way to recovery.
“I’m looking forward to that because it means I can start the rehabilitation properly, it’ll go step by step by step; I can see myself going through that and getting better with each step, nearer to coming back to play.
“That’s how I look at it — the more I do in terms of rehab, the closer it’s getting me to the matches again.”
