Darius: I Felt Like Andy Murray

CHRIS DUNLAVY TALKS TO WYCOMBE WANDERERS DEFENDER DARIUS CHARLES ABOUT HIS CAREER-THREATENING HIP INJURY

- Chris Dunlavy

WHEN an emotional Andy Murray broke down in tears before the Australian Open in January, Darius Charles knew exactly how he felt.

“I remember he talked about how hard it was just putting his socks on,” says the Wycombe Wanderers defender. “And I thought ‘Yes - finally someone who knows what it’s like!’.”

Back then, both men were in the depths of despair. Like Murray, Charles had suffered near-total degradation of the labrum, the delicate cartilage that serves to cushion the hip joint.

Pain was a constant companion. Physio and rehab had failed. When even surgery was ruled out, retirement loomed.

“When I went to see the surgeon, he said that he wouldn’t perform any kind of operation because the success rate is between 20-30 percent,” explains the 31-year-old, who had played just five times for the Chairboys following a move from AFC Wimbledon in the summer of 2018.

“And success doesn’t mean you’ll live a fruitful, mobile life. Success means you won’t need a hip replacement within five years.

“He said the most likely outcome was that I’d be back for a full hip replacement at 35. Over a lifetime, you can only have three hip replacements and they last on average about ten years. So by 55-60, god knows where I’d be.

“In the end, he said ‘I advise you to stop playing because you won’t ever be able to get back to the level you’re at’.

“I’d gone there hoping to save my career. Now one of the best hip surgeons in England was telling me I was out of options. I could either risk my health, or give up my dream, the thing I loved doing most. I just cried.”

When the tears had dried, resignation set in.