Having been robbed of a year of his career with a serious knee injury, Hull KR forward Danny Addy believes that lengthy layoff could actually prolong his career.
Addy’s 2018 campaign was over before it had effectively begun, after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in a pre-season game against Hull FC, forcing him to miss the entirety of last season.
However, now fully-fit and back in full training, Addy told League Express that the injury, in hindsight, could actually benefit the longevity of his career.
“Since 2012 I’ve pretty much played straight through without a proper break, with internationals included,” Addy said.
“I think in a weird way, it may end up adding a couple of years onto my career. My body has never felt stronger and I feel really good.
“I’ve had some down days for sure, but now I’m having some good days. We’re here to play the game we’ve loved since we were little kids and for someone to turn around and tell you your season is over before you’ve played a game.. that’s tough.
“It’s been a long 11 months, but I’m just buzzing to be back training with the team. Hopefully I can put a tough year behind me now and start the countdown towards getting back playing.”
Known for his versatility in recent years, Addy revealed how he is happy to fill in across the park next year, with his primary goal playing as many minutes as possible.
He said: “It’ll be nice to see where I’m going to play – I like to play in a few roles. I think I might be playing a bit of hooker, but I want to play 80 minutes every week so it might involve me moving around mid-game.”
Addy also put his time away from playing to good use: coaching Scotland’s under-19s side.
He said: “We went to Serbia and played against Ireland, Wales and France – and we won two games.
“That was a good experience, it gave me a different insight away from playing and I had to plan the full trip for the lads. I’ve always enjoyed coaching because I’ve done it at amateur level for a few years, but it does make you think that it’s going to come to an end at some point.”
