from
August 2004
I’M BACK, AND HERE TO STAY…
Anthony Ricketts, the sometimes volatile Australian, coached by Rodney
Martin,
the legendary Geoff Hunt, and now Mike Johnson, was taken away from the
circuit as his career was going up up up.
Number 6 when he stopped, he is
now, logically, down at number 12. Having had surgery on a defective knee,
he is back, he is happy to be here, and he is hungry….
How many months have you been off the circuit ?
Six months. I actually got injured in November, but I had tournament
commitments, I had to play Qatar, the World Open and the TOC, so even though
I was injured, I still had to play. Then I went back to Australia first
thing in January.
What was your injury exactly?
At the end, it was just a bit of tissue damage, but the problem was in
diagnosing it, as it was very difficult to find the injury. Fixing it was
actually quite easy, I went under keyhole surgery, and they simply removed
the damaged tissue.
How hard was the rehabilitation?
Well, I lost a lot of strength, so I spent four to six weeks in intense
rehabilitation. But I will probably spend the rest of my life looking after
the knee, as the rehabilitation is now an on-going thing.
What was your program?
Everything! Gym, bike, working on the stability, but nothing too
extravagant…
At the moment, what are your goals?
It’s very hard to say right now, it’s basically going to be a match by
match, as this is the first tournament I’m doing in 6 months. I definitely
want to be back in the top 8 at least by the end of the year. I would like
to say higher but realistically, I’m not expecting too much from this
tournament, but after this, my expectations will be higher.
How did the break from competition make you feel?
I think it made me a hungrier player, not nervous. Obviously, I want my
injury to hold up, but I don’t have any fears really, the feeling I’ve got
at the moment is excitement. I have been looking forward to getting back on
the tour for six months. And here I am!
Mike Johnson and Paul Walters
Coach and Manager |
|
"I will probably spend the rest of my life
looking
after the knee, as the rehabilitation is now
an on-going thing." |
|
