Pre-season training is always a gruelling experience, none more so than for Tom Curren who suffered a freak accident just prior to the Christmas break. Whilst competing for a loose ball, Tom made awkward contact with an opponent and suffered a neck injury in the process. Rushed to hospital due to the nature of the contact it was discovered that he sustained a fracture to his upper cervical spine. Thankfully there was no extended damage however for the bone to heal appropriately, he is currently in a neck brace and will be for the next 6-8 weeks as part of his recovery. This is a bitter blow for Tom who was able to complete the majority of pre-season for the first time in a few years following niggling foot issues.
 
“It’s obviously not an ideal situation and it has been somewhat frustrating for many reasons, I’ve got to consider myself lucky to be able to walk away from it with no real long-term compromises. Realising the reality of what could have been is probably the scary part of it all, I’ve never been one to take things for granted and I do appreciate the little things but on the back of this, it’s something that will be exaggerated further once I’m back to full health.”
 
“So far the recovery has been smooth, my first follow up appointment was positive, not a lot came from it although essentially the specialists confirmed nothing out of the ordinary has popped up and in terms of how I’ve started the recovery process during the first four weeks, I’ve just got to do more of the same for the next four before the next appointment.”
 
“The club and the boys have been great, I’ve felt supported throughout the process so far which has certainly made the situation a bit easier. Not only from visits to the hospital but text messages and catch ups definitely help the psyche so that’s something I can’t express how much I appreciate. The injury has made me evaluate what I want to do from a career point of view too, so with the club’s help, I’m currently exploring what avenues or options that might be available to pursue and really establish a career.”
 
After getting the neck brace off Tom will build into his running, training and weights and is already itching to return to the field. Tom will be no stranger to the club during his recovery, taking on roles within our strength and conditioning team and assisting the reserves group as a line coach.
 
The players can already see some light at the end of their pre-season tunnel with our first practice match of 2019 scheduled for Thursday 14^th February at Arena Joondalup. It will also be our first chance to face former League Assistant Geoff Valentine since he took the reins at West Perth at the end of 2018.