It was the worst news possible for Bulli midfielder Sam Davies when he learnt he would require hip surgery which would rule him out of the 2024 Illawarra Premier League season.
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With Julio Miranda's side beginning to take shape, a noticeable absentee from the list of confirmed players for next season was Davies.
Bulli Football Club were quick to inform fans via social media that the Davies would miss the season due to hip surgery and that the club were hoping the 30-year-old would return to action in 2025.
The news came as a shock but Davies said it was something that had to be done.
"Pretty much the last couple of years I've had quite tight hips," he said.
"They've always been a bit of an issue. But I just got to a point where recovery was quite painful. The whole back half of last season, I was taking painkillers and everything to get through it.
"I went to see a specialist and got some scans and it turns out I've got bits of my bones in my hips that are stopping them from rotating and I've got some arthritis as well. I need an arthroscopy on both sides that are six months apart, which is why I'm out for next season.
"It's been terrible news to be honest. That's not something I was expecting. It's going to be hard watching. I'm not really someone who likes to sit back and not be able to be involved in playing.
"But I'll hopefully be in maybe a manager position just to be around the boys and cheer them on and get them pumped up."
Davies took the time to reflect on the 2023 IPL season whilst chatting to the Mercury and gave points as to where the team could improve next year.
"The season was pretty good. I thought we were probably ruled out of it a little bit early on but I think we just lacked consistency unfortunately," Davies continued.
"Obviously the 7-1 win against Olympic was fantastic but we probably didn't play to that potential against some other teams. I think inconsistency was the biggest problem last season. Hopefully we can work on that this season. Play better periods of football for longer.
"But I think even with a young squad we'll be pushing for top five again and that's what we'll be aiming for.
"There's definitely a few leaders in the making like Logan Mathie and Deakin Brownlee and obviously 'Benny Mac' [captain Ben McDonald] is the older person there. He's 31 but he's probably in the best shape of his life. He does a lot of stuff behind the scenes to get himself fit for the season and hopefully he's getting 30-plus goals again.
"So we're young and fresh but hopefully we have a bit more energy."
Jordan Warren
Illawarra Mercury sports journalist. Feel free to get in touch jordan.warren@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
Illawarra Mercury sports journalist. Feel free to get in touch jordan.warren@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
