FORMER Hull FC star Carlos Tuimavave has revealed he “had to learn to walk again” following a serious Achilles injury that kept him out for the 2022 Super League season.
Tuimavave, now 32, has left the Black and Whites after 182 games to link up with Championship side Featherstone Rovers.
Though there was Super League interest, the New Zealander has explained just why the time to Hull FC was right.
“Over the last two months, I’ve done a lot of thinking. Looking back now and how I finished my time at Hull, I felt like I finished on the right note. I left on good terms, and it was definitely time to move on,” Tuimavave told BBC Radio Humberside.
“I’d been there for a long time, had some good times, and definitely had some bad times as well, but I leave with no ill feeling or anything towards the club.
“I feel like it was the right time, especially with the journey the club has been on now with new coaching staff and ownership.
“I feel like it’s a new chapter, and it’s time for new players to come in, take over, and lead the club in a new direction.”
It’s fair to say that Tuimavave has struggled with injury over the years, as the 32-year-old recalls a serious Achilles injury which laid the platform for constant niggles.
“I think we can go back to 2022, when I did my Achilles. I just didn’t quite recover from that. I obviously came back from the injury but I kept getting niggle after niggle after that.
“I think that was down to the Achilles injury. I initially had to learn to walk again, let alone to run again. It was tough, and it definitely took its toll on me mentally because physically I was doing everything possible to prepare my body, eating right, and doing everything away from training correct, and I was still getting niggling injuries.
“It was very frustrating, but in my mind I still knew I had what it took to be a top centre at Super League level, but those injuries were stopping me. I came back towards the end of the last season, and I felt like I played some pretty good footy.”
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