Hard road back for Stephen

Six weeks after surgery aimed at solving a recurring hip problem, Stephen Hunt is leaving no stone unturned in a bid to regain fitness.

“They said it would be a three to four month recovery period after the operation,” he explains. “The surgeon said it wasn’t as bad as he thought, just a bit of bone shaved off my hip that was causing pain down my groin, my back and into my glut. My groin was the biggest issue because that required an operation before the Euros. That relieved the problem a little bit but it came back over the summer. So it was just a matter of trying to get to the bottom of it and getting it right. You can take injections but some times you have to go the longer route. And that’s what I’ve done. And I’m happy I’ve done it instead of battling away for the next four or five years.

“Basically the first time I could tie my show lace properly in five or six months was about four or five weeks ago. You get used to the pain, though. I still do get some pain in my groin and I have days where I panic a bit, you’re saying to yourself, ‘come on, get better’ and all that. You have to be patient but I’m not the best. I might have a meltdown for about five minutes with the physio and then five minutes later we’re back in the gym.