ROAD TO RECOVERY

Long-term Injury can be devastating, but with intelligent réhab and positive psychology it's possible to return stronger and fresher than before. We asked. three elite athletes to reveal their own personal rehab stories, to inspire you to bounce back with intent.

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ANTHONY WATSON

Profession: Rugby

Injury type: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)

Injury lessons for: Endurance athletes, speed athletes, team sports athletes

THE INJURY

Anthony Watson has harnessed his indefatigable stamina and electrifying top speed of 36.6kph to blitz 22 tries in 51 appearances for England. But in October 2021, the winger ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) - which stabilises the knee joint - while playing for Bath against Saracens.

"I felt something strange in my knee," he says, "but I thought I had just irritated something, so I carried on. But when I had to use my left leg after a line-out, I felt something seriously go. I thought, I've done my ACL here. It just felt like what an ACL injury would feel like: two bones sliding across each other. I was in surgery a week later."

A knee injury could have destroyed an athlete like Watson, whose game is built on speed, stamina and agility: he typically runs 7.64km - 1.5km of which is at high speed - per game. But he has now shown other speed, endurance and team sports athletes that a knee injury can be a trigger to come back even stronger. Now feeling fit and fresh at new club Leicester Tigers, the 28-year-old says he is faster than ever. Here's how he turned things around...

ANTHONY WATSON'S RECOVERY LESSONS

1. Focus on facts over feelings