SYDNEY, Australia, January 4. JUST a few months before World Championship selection trials will be held in Australia, the country's star sprinter, Eamon Sullivan, has chosen to undergo another round of hip surgery, reported the Herald Sun.
Known for his strong entry into the water, Sullivan has incurred injuries in the past immediately after starts in races. It looks like that repeated stress is leading to a return to surgeon's scalpel for Sullivan.
According to the Herald Sun, Sullivan already has had three surgeries on his hip. The latest will include a repair of a laberal tear and a bone spur shaving.
"He's going to be behind the eight ball," Sullivan's coach Grant Stoelwinder told the Herald Sun. "He's been told, maybe six weeks, but it's not six weeks out of the water, it's six weeks until he'll be able to kick again. We've got time. We'll put a pool buoy on him (after surgery) and he won't be able to kick or do any turns. We'll do what we can, get him in the gym. He might not be the same athlete we've seen in the past, but we'll be in a building process to get him to a spot where he's better. He's had three months' break so his strength is probably not where it needs to be at the moment. We're just going to look at the positive and just look at trying to make the team. Whether we make an individual swim or we just try to make it on a relay or a 50m, that's the goal."
Full text of Herald Sun article.