https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/n...s/news-story/2d91917c85948b92acc3effd06975276
Sea Eagles: Dylan Walker’s fightback after five operations
Jon Geddes, Manly Daily
February 2, 2018 4:53p
AFTER a nightmare off-season when he underwent five operations, Sea Eagles star Dylan Walker has taken some big steps forward this week on the road to recovery.
The 2017 Dally M centre of the year had his first run in four months at the club’s Narrabeen headquarters on Wednesday morning.
For about 20 minutes he was running 50m sets at a slow, easy pace which marked a significant moment in his rehab program.
“It was getting used to the mechanics again but it is going well,” Walker said.
“It was good to get out on the grass and do some rehab running.”
Manly Sea Eagles centre Dylan Walker at Freshwater this week, Picture: AAP //Joel Carrett.
Walker has had two operations on the ankle that he dislocated while playing for the Prime Ministers XIII in Papua New Guinea last year.
He also underwent shoulder reconstruction surgery and that was followed by an operation on his neck to remove a stone that had blocked his salivary glands.
An infection set in after the stone was removed and Walker had to go under the knife again two weeks later for the fifth time.
“The neck was the most frustrating one because the infection started to infect my shoulder and shoulder,” Walker said.
“But once that all got cleared up from the second operation it’s been uphill from there and I’ve felt better and better.
“It’s good to finally get into some training now and doing the things I have been used to the last couple of years,” he said.
Through it all Walker constantly replayed in his head that he will come back fit, healthy and strong.
Dylan Walker in action against the Panthers. Picture; Cameron Spencer/Getty Images).
“I had to work a lot on my mind over that little four month break, I had to stay positive which I think I have been,” he said.
“It’s a bit more visualisation and just looking at the game in a different way and it’s something I’ll continue to do.”
Walker will again be a key man in the Sea Eagles’ premiership campaign after the big impact he made in 2017.
“I have set myself some pretty high goals for when I come back,” he said.
“I want to come back just as good and that is being professional in the rehab and looking after my injuries.”
There have been suggestions that Walker will return to the field in round four of the NRL but he said no date has yet been locked in.
“I’m hoping to get back around that time, l have to go see the surgeon again in the next couple of weeks and wait to see what he says,” Walker said.