Majok well on the road to recovery

When the Perth Wildcats returned to Western Australia last week, there weren’t too many happier to see them than Majok Majok.

The injured big man remained in Perth as his teammates embarked on a two-month road trip, meaning a lot of time spent alone.

“It’s been really tough having them away, being here by myself, rehabbing, being in the gym alone, it’s been really good to have the guys back, it’s good to have the morale back up. It’s been fun.”

Way back at the beginning of November, Majok Majok suffered a season-ending rupture of his Achilles tendon at a standard Wildcats training session.

Given the lengthy off-season leading into the COVID-delayed 2020/21 NBL Season, it was a real kick in the teeth for the Wildcats centre, who was in some of the best physical condition of his career, after eight months on the practice courts.

“I took the long off-season as an opportunity to get better and work hard, but unfortunately injuries are part of sports,” he said.

“An Achilles injury is one of the toughest injuries to come back from, it just happens, you don’t really have any warnings.

“It’s been very tough mentally and physically frustrating, because of how long it takes to recover. But you can’t feel sorry for yourself too much, you’ve got to stay on top of things and really attack the rehab process.”

However, Majok said he’s in a better place having worked through the tougher phase of his recovery.

“I went from being on bed rest, to using crutches, to wearing a boot. I’m way past the toughest stretch so the fun stuff will begin now, like, working hard, rehabbing, getting back in good physical form.”

The 28-year-old is now able to get do some shooting and is expecting to be jogging again in the near future.

While it’s tough not being out there with teammates, he said he’s been able to contribute to the group in different ways.

“I’ve been really impressed with how they’ve been playing so far, but we still have a long season ahead of us. The new guys have come in a gelled pretty well with the team. The chemistry is working pretty good,” he said.

“I’m trying to help the guys out as much as I can with what I see, obviously when you’re watching from the bench you see a lot more than when you’re out on the court, so just trying to help out any way I can.”

The Wildcats play their third-consecutive home games at RAC Arena on Friday against the Illawarra Hawks.

Tickets available here.