Warren Whiteley goes under the knife

Warren Whiteley, the inspirational former Lions and Springbok captain, plans to go ahead with knee surgery in an effort to revive his career, reports thesouthafrican.com.

The number 8 elected to take 2020 off to allow his body to recuperate and spent time as a coach in the Johannesburg-based Lions setup.

Still experiencing knee troubles, Whiteley is of the opinion that surgery is his best course of action.

“I’ve seen doctors up here, I’ve seen a doctor in Durban and most recently I’ve been in contact with a surgeon in Cape Town, who’s likely to do the operation,” he said.

“I’ve spoken to as many doctors as possible to get different opinions and they’re all in agreement. If I’m to get better and if the knee is to heal properly I have to have another operation.

“There’s constant pain and it won’t get better without surgery,” Whiteley added.

“My history with knee injuries doesn’t help, so it’s going to be a complicated thing to have to deal with.

“I’ll see what happens over time, but before I get to make any decision about playing, I want to first be able to play with my kids in the backyard and not feel pain. I want to play hockey, netball and rugby, I want to sprint and run with my kids; that’s the first thing I want to get out of the surgery. What happens after that can be decided at a later stage.”