The 38-year-old Steven Davies will be out for at least 5 more months and is contemplating retiring
Rangers’ Steven Davies who got injured before Christmas, suffering a double ACL tear, may never play professional football again.
Steven Davies contemplates retiring from professional football
The Northern Ireland international Steven Davies may face retirement after suffering a horrible double ACL tear injury.
“I’ve got to be realistic, it’s a big injury and takes a lot of time to come back from,” Davis told BBC Northern Ireland.
“At my age and the stage I’m at in my career, I know it’s going to be difficult but I’ve always been a very fit person so that should stand me in good stead and give me the best possible chance [of playing again].
“I haven’t made any decisions about moving forward, I’ll just concentrate on ‘rehabbing’ to the best of my ability and stay focused. I don’t want this to be the defining moment that ends my career.”
With 140 caps to his name, Davies is the most-capped UK player of all time. He expressed his wishes to play for Northern Ireland as well as the Rangers. However, his contract with Rangers will be up in the summer.
“I’ve got to be realistic, it’s a big injury and takes a lot of time to come back from,”
“Everybody knows how much it means to me to play for Northern Ireland, the relationship I’ve had with the fans and country throughout my career,” he said.
“The prospect of pulling on the green shirt again, and the Rangers shirt, is a driving factor for me, although I know it is going to be a long and difficult road ahead.
“If the rehab goes well I may have a chance to be involved in the last few international games of the year, but before that it’d be nice to be there with the squad, part of the camp for a change of scenery and to add something to the group and be amongst it.”
After undergoing surgery last month, Davies is finding rehabilitation mentally challenging. He plans to get his coaching badges this year and is open to possibilities after retiring.
“The last few weeks have been slow progress but I have to try and show patience and it is a chance for me to learn and grow as a person,” he said.
“It’s difficult watching matches, knowing that you might not get an opportunity to do that again but I’m very driven to try and get myself back out there.
“It gives me time to grow away from that too, whether that be looking into my coaching or doing something outside of that, make the most of my time. I still need to do my coaching badges. That’s one I want to tick off this year.”
