TYRONE attacker Harry Loughran, who made five Championship appearances for the Red Hands during last year’s run to the All-Ireland final, has not kicked a ball in 2019 due to a chronic back problem.
But he’s hoping surgery to address the issue will enable him to revive his career and drag him back from the brink of announcing an enforced retirement at the age of 25.
Three months out from the operation, which was carried out at Dublin’s Blackrock Clinic in October, the signs are hopeful that he may play again.
“I’m three months post-operation now, and hopefully this will enable me to return and give it a proper go,” he said.
“There’s always risks with that type of surgery, and the first thing you think about is getting back to normal life.
“The general message I was getting was that the medical guys were hopeful I could get back, but they were certainly giving me no guarantees.
“Even yet, it’s the same message, it’s looking good, but there are no guarantees.”
Remarkably, Loughran has managed to hold down a place in Mickey Harte’s Tyrone squad, playing at the top level of inter-county football, despite being restricted to training intensity hitting 50 per cent at best.
Back problems have dogged the Moy clubman throughout his sporting career, but his love of the game has driven him through the pain barrier to achieve incredible levels of success.
“It’s probably something that people take for granted, but with this injury, I have never been able to train or play properly for club or county.
“When you’re going out to train with it in your head that you can’t properly sprint or twist suddenly, or if you shoot from distance, you’re going to aggravate the nerve, it’s crazy stuff when you’re trying to play at that level.”
Pain bordering on agony has been a constant companion to the primary school teacher, not just on the training ground or football pitch, but in everyday life at home and work.
“I have had trouble with my back for a long time, and it has got progressively worse.
“For a long time I have tried to play through it with the aid of injections.
“I had a decision to make, but at that stage, all other options have been exhausted.
“I had sort of tried everything, until I reached a stage where the surgeon decided that to operate was the best option.
“They did a repair on the lower back, which basically meant putting a wee bit of metal in to stabilise it, and help with the nerve problem as well.”
“Thankfully it did go very well, I had two great neuro-surgeons doing it down in Blackrock in Dublin, Mr Kelleher and Mr Fenton.
“It wasn’t a decision I took lightly, I knew the risks, but also I knew that if the operation was a success it would give me a better quality of life in later years, which is very important as well.
“Then obviously the other big reason was that hopefully now I can get back to train and play properly for the first time.”
Loughran has earned a reputation as a predatory goal-scorer, coming off the bench to grab a vital three-pointer during extra-time in last year’s All-Ireland SFC Qualifier against Meath, as Tyrone narrowly avoided a shock defeat at Pairc Tailteann.
Earlier in 2018, he hit the net eight times during Moy’s All-Ireland Club IFC-winning campaign.
But his sole goal at the moment is to work through recovery and rehab on his way to a point where he is able to move freely, pain-free and resurrect his footballing career.
“The first step is getting back to pain-free, everyday life, getting back to work and just doing the basic everyday things,'' said Loughran.
“From a structural point of view, the back is better than ever, but the sciatic nerve is the big issue, and it has to fully settle before I get back playing.
“At the moment it’s hard to put a time-frame on it, because it hasn’t settled.
“All you can do with a long-term injury like that is work hard at the rehab, you follow the advice and see where that takes you.
“Mickey Harte and the Tyrone county board have been brilliant in getting things sorted, and now I’m working away with Louis O’Connor (Tyrone physio) and the medical team, and also Enda King, the head of support and rehab in Santry, in Dublin and this gives me the best possible chance.”
