O’brien’s Comeback to begin

Burleigh product returns for Gold Coast Open

IT took what seemed to be an innocuous wave to keep Liam O’brien on the sidelines for the first time.

In what was supposed to be nothing more than a warm-up for his maiden stint on the World Surfing League Tour, the Burleigh product left Hawaii earlier in the year with a broken leg to show for his troubles.

However, there was no dwelling on the setback by O’brien, and now he is bracing for a mighty comeback at this weekend’s Gold Coast Open.

“I was surfing at Pipe to warm up for the event at the beginning of the year there over in Hawaii,” he said.

“I pretty much just pulled into a little wave in the warm-up surf and my back foot got flipped over and I got crashed down on top of it.

“I was just shocked that I’d done that sort of injury on such a mediocre wave, it really didn’t seem like something so dramatic should have happened. But it did and it was more just shock at first, then I had to spend a week there before I could fly home.

“Obviously I’ve focused primarily on rehab and trying to get back as quickly as possible, but it seems like it’s just a part of sport having a major injury and I haven’t had one up until this point.

“At first I was definitely jealous (watching) and wanted to be in the event. But it got to a point where I’d been out of the water for so long I was just content and accepting of where I was at.”

With his four months of recovery now behind him, O’brien will now be out to hit form quickly to make up for lost time at this weekend’s Open.

Nearly 150 athletes – with some international talent included – will take to the Burleigh Heads event in one of the first opportunities for athletes to grab points and qualify for the 2023 WSL Challenger Series.

Missing the events he did has put

O’brien in danger of failing to make the mid-season cut-off to qualify for the tour next year.

His best chance appears to be a wildcard entry from the WSL.

However O’brien said any thoughts of what-if have never entered his mind.

He said his primary focus was simply on announcing a comeback to full fitness, and make a statement on his home sands.

“I’ve been surfing for the last three weeks. I started off just on a soft board not really turning at all and then slowly progressing,” he said. “I’m not at 100 per cent yet, but surfing the short board and surfing reasonably.

“It’s been a pretty long process. Obviously I’ve had to miss out on a lot of events so it’s been a bit tough in that respect, but also I’ve been pretty quick as well in terms of the recovery period for this sort of injury.

“I’m just going to focus on these few Challenger Series events coming up and go from there.

“I’d say I’ll do the whole Challenger Series tour, but first and foremost it’s the event here in Burleigh.”

The Gold Coast Open runs from Saturday to Monday and will cater for both competitors and spectators with the inclusion of daily sunrise yoga, live music and a night cinema.