There is an absence of rugby memorabilia inside Anthony Watson’s house. His first England jersey is crowded out by Scarface and Banksy pictures, while his ‘Top Trump’ card from the 2015 World Cup is hidden among a collection of baseball caps on a side table.
‘Speed: 87, Strength: 71,’ reads Watson, picking up the card. ‘They should both be in the 90s when I’m back! Easy.’
Watson lives in a terraced house in Bath with his American girlfriend, Alyse. The sofa is covered in rehab equipment. The makeshift bar has become overstocked, barely touched in 12 months.
Anthony Watson lives in a terraced house in Bath with his American girlfriend, Alyse
It is 372 days since Watson first ruptured his left Achilles in the first half of England’s 2018 Six Nations defeat by Ireland. He has not played rugby since, although he could yet make his comeback in Bath’s game against Bristol at Twickenham in two weeks’ time.
‘It’s been pretty horrendous,’ he says, having ruptured the Achilles again in July and torn his quad in February. ‘It’s been bad news on top of bad news on top of bad news.
‘I still remember what happened. I’d had tendinitis for a while before. I’d struggled on the Lions tour, getting injections at half-time and pain killers. Maybe I should have listened to my body a bit more, but you don’t say “no” to a Lions tour, do you?
‘It went 20 or 30 minutes into the Ireland game. It was like someone had taken a hammer and smacked me in the back of the heel. It didn’t make a noise, but I felt it and knew immediately what had happened. It felt like my foot was just hanging off my leg.’
Recovery has been a long and frustrating journey. Watson turned to family, faith, friends and mind coach Don Macpherson. He has had two operations and has been left with a five-inch ‘keloid’, or raised scar, down the back of his left heel.
It is 372 days since Watson first ruptured his left Achilles in England’s 2018 defeat by Ireland
‘It’s not all doom and gloom, though,’ he says. ‘I’ve learnt a lot about myself... and other people. As soon as you’re out of the limelight for a year, people don’t want to talk to you any more. You learn who your real mates are. Some people reach out to see how you’re doing, while other people go off radar. It’s not something I lose sleep over. I just thought some people were better mates than they actually are.
‘I’ve not been more than an hour without thinking about my Achilles over the last 12 months. It’s consuming... my missus hates me! Even when we went on holiday, I felt guilty. We went to the Maldives and Thailand and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I should have. I was thinking, “F**k, am I really doing what’s best for my Achilles
