Star Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell revealed that he feared that he would never play cricket again following a freak backyard accident at a friend’s birthday party. Maxwell further revealed that he basically had to educate himself on how to walk again following the surgery.
In November 2022, Maxwell had broken the fibula in his left leg and ruptured all the ligaments on top of his foot at his friend’s birthday party. After which, the 34-year-old all-rounder underwent surgery to reset the bone, and now, following his rehab program, he has reportedly slowly started training.
Speaking on Fox Cricket during a BBL 12 game between Adelaide Strikers and Melbourne Renegades on January 10, Maxwell opened up about the physical and mental pain he endured in the early stages of his recovery and the fear of not being able to return to the cricket field.
Glenn Maxwell told Fox Cricket: “That first week in hospital was pretty difficult … I did think that I might not play cricket again. There were those thoughts while I was in hospital looking at my leg because it looked like a balloon. The next week I was at home after I got back from the hospital and I thought it was going to be a lot easier at home.”
He continued, “(But) not having the nurses there and not having the constant pain medication … that was probably the most pain I’ve ever been in. Just trying to get around the house was awful. I had to teach myself how to walk, which was pretty bizarre because the actual joint was so swollen and tight that it was basically like having two blocks of wood nailed together.
There was no real movement, no flexion at all. I had to teach myself how to get the courage to walk forward over the top of my foot and go heel to toe. Being in a pool and doing all that rehab has been really helpful.”
On how he kept himself ultra-positive when his own thoughts of his cricket career could be over troubled him, he revealed: “I did a few video calls and talked to a bunch of people … as soon as I could start to move and walk a little bit, every day I was making progress – so I was basically just holding onto the fact I was making progress. I started looking forward, thinking: ‘You know what? I’m going to make this recovery the best possible recovery possible. I’m going to come back early and stronger than ever.’”
The all-rounder further noted, “I started to try and use it as a motivation factor instead of: ‘Oh no why has this happened to me?’ I tried to turn it around and think about how I can finish the back-end of my career and be the fittest I’ve been, healthiest and most motivated.
“We’ve got the Test tour of India coming up and I was super motivated to get myself ready for that. Whether or not I’m on that, only time will tell. But I’ve done everything in my power to try and get ready for it and get myself back playing. There’s still a fair way to go.”
Maxwell signed off by saying, “I’m really proud of how much work I’ve put in day and night. I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights icing and trying to get myself ready, nights sleeping on the couch with pillows all around my foot and ice packs shoved into my boot. I’m certainly looking forward to getting back out there, I’ll probably start playing club cricket soon after the Big Bash and hopefully go from there.”
(With Fox Cricket Inputs)
