Ryan’s race against time
Major efforts to speed up full-back’s healing process
WEXFORD FULL-BACK Liam Ryan is undertaking the now modern route to regaining full fitness from serious injury in an effort to make himself available for important championship games on the horizon.
The All Star nominee is battling a mild stress fracture in his foot, and is in a race against time to be fully recovered for his club’s opening Pettitt’s Senior hurling championship game against Shelmaliers at Chadwicks Wexford Park on Saturday afternoon next.
Given the nature of the injury, his club championship fate will rest on the Rapparees’ progress or otherwise in the competition, with their second and final group game against Naomh Eanna at the same venue on Friday week, July 24.
While it would be a very tall order for Ryan to make the club championship, those behind the scenes believes there should be little difficulty in having the outstanding full-back available for the opening defence of Wexford’s provincial title in a mouth-watering semi-final clash with Galway on the last weekend of October.
However, Ryan has reverted to an unusual course of treatment in an effort to regain full fitness, by going down the hyperbaric oxygen therapy route, which he hopes will speed up the healing process.
Well-known acupuncturist and physical therapist, Enniscorthy’s Donal ‘ Gammy’ O’Connor, has recently installed a hyperbaric chamber, which is the modern way to aid injury recovery, and has attracted the attention of sports stars and the public in general to avail of the specialist treatment.
An increasing number of sports stars have chosen to use HBOT to speed up recovery from injuries. And this has led Ryan to undertake the special course of treatment, for an injury that initially led to much concern for the Wexford Senior hurling mentors.
It’s not a major surprise to see the tall full-back availing of every available option to regain full fitness, given that he is one of the most committed players at both club and inter-county level, while also providing a huge presence for his club’s Senior football team.
This treatment is used as soon as possible following injury. With Ryan having undergone an MRI scan that showed up a mild stress fracture, he immediately set in motion arrangements to attend the clinic run by Donal O’Connor, having already undertaken a number of treatments in the modern facility.
The hyperbaric oxygen therapy route provided by O’Connor at his Enniscorthy base is used to counter the inflammatory process and is fulfilling the strong growing need for optimal and faster recovery times that allows the injured athlete to return to full function and competition faster than with the normal course of rehabilitation. Ryan will make every effort to be available for the club championship games, if possible, but he will take everything into consideration before deciding on his fitness, particularly his mobility which is sure to be affected by this injury and his lack of preparation over the past few weeks.
Ryan was easily one of Wexford’s most durable defenders during last year’s championship, and through the early rounds of the National League this year, so one immediately recognises his importance to the team, particularly given the daunting challenge they face in beginning the defence of their provincial title versus Galway.
He is the ultimate team player and crucial to both club and county, a throwback to the many great players that have worn the purple and gold number three jersey.
As the clubs continue their preparations for the opening round hurling championship games this weekend, Wexford manager Davy Fitzgerald is confident that the inter-county players will leave an impact on their individual games.
‘All the players are back with their clubs preparing for the championship and they are quite happy,’ Fitzgerald said.
‘All I will say is that the players are giving everything for their clubs. I want them to show consistency, maintain their standards, and with games on successive weekends, they will return sharp and ready to the inter-county set-up.
‘I am delighted to see them have games each weekend as it’s important for any player to have games. A few months back you would have thought there would be no games this year, so it’s just great to be back. Let’s enjoy it over the coming weeks,’ Fitzgerald added.
‘I will be attending games and looking forward to them. I’m also confident Liam will be fully fit for the provincial semi-final.’ SEE CENTRESPREAD