From Men's Health

If the true test of an athlete is how they deal with adversity, then Anthony Watson has been tested more than most.

In March 2018, Watson ruptured his Achilles tendon playing for England in a Six Nations defeat to Ireland. Initially, the England fullback, was told he’d be out for around six months, but having undergone an operation to fix his issue, Watson re-tore his Achilles meaning he had to go right back to the beginning of rehab.

“I didn't expect to be out for almost a year. I expected to be out for six to nine months because that's what they prescribe for Achilles injuries, but obviously the first surgery I had didn't take properly, so that was frustrating,” says Watson. “Three months down the line I had to go back to square one, which is probably the toughest part about the whole situation.”

Almost 12 months later, Watson is ready to resume his rugby career. But before he pulls on the famous England jersey once again, hopefully in the current Six Nations tournament, we spoke to him to learn exactly what life’s like as an injured athlete, from the mind-numbing schedule, to being housebound after an op to coming back an even stronger player.

Men's Health: Did you think this injury was going to be a bad one?

Anthony Watson: Pretty much, I mean I'd had Achilles issues, like tendonitis and stuff in both of my Achilles before. I'd spoken to people who’d had Achilles ruptures and tendonitis, about what it feels like when they did it. They just said it feels like someone kicking you in the back of the heel, so as soon as I felt that kind of sensation, I knew that it was my Achilles that had gone. That's why I didn't even bother trying to get up because I knew it was serious.

MH: How did you feel when you found out the first operation hadn't been successful?

AW: They didn't know straight away, it was only three-and-a half months down the line when I tried to move and catch and ball. I wasn't even trying to run; I was at walking pace, and I moved to try and catch a ball and it just went again.

I had a few indications in the weeks before that it just wasn't getting strong as fast as I'd hoped, but you have to be patient with Achilles, so it was trying to find a balancing act of not trying to panic too much and trust the process, but also figuring out when you know something's wrong and I guess I just found out the hard way.

Photo credit: Clive Rose - Getty Images More

MH: Would you describe that as the lowest point?

AW: Yeah, definitely that, [I remember] the drive home immediately after it happened, praying that it wasn't the exact same injury again, praying that it was something different, but in my gut I was pretty sure it was the exact same injury. It felt very similar, so that was tough, and then after you have the op you have to stay at home for two weeks because of risk of infection. When I'm sat at home doing nothing, it sounds appealing in the middle of the season when you've played 30-odd games, but after a while it gets very painful to just sit at home, do nothing and not get better at all, so it was tough.

MH: How has the injury impacted your day-to-day life?

AW: A lot, it changes everything really. You obviously can't go out and train with the lads, so you have to come in early, do your physio stuff, lie on the physio bed, get treatment, then go and do your weights. For me it's probably been longer days than it otherwise would be and it's consistent, it doesn't taper off towards the end of the week like it does when you're playing, so it is tough mentally to be able to get yourself up, to do that kind of thing every day.

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