“It’s very difficult to explain why you’re not enjoying being a professional rugby player.”
Cathal Sheridan was going places at Munster. Then, injury intervened.
That journey from the treatment room to the pitch can often feel like the loneliest one in the world.
There is often support from medical and coaching staff, the doctors, team-mates, family and friends. Still, it is a journey you must take, for large parts, alone.
Sheridan broke his arm in late 2014 and it badly stalled his career. He went from dicing it out with Conor Murray for that coveted No.9 jersey to inching towards a red-circled date on the calendar. When he got there, that date was pushed back.
As part of IRUPA’s Tackle Your Feelings campaign, Sheridan opens up about the dark times he went through, when the light at the end of the tunnel was far too dim and far too far away. He says:
“I had been injured plenty of times before this instance, many much more serious and more long term, but I had always managed to deal very effectively with the challenges that go hand in hand with injuries.
“At the time I didn’t even understand the effect it was having on me. Not only was I not enjoying being a rugby player, I wasn’t really enjoying anything I was doing.
“It was only after a close friend questioned my behaviours that I realised I had been isolating myself, falling into bad habits and even blaming rugby for my frustration. Now I am a lot quicker to notice when something is wrong and I take action straight away.”
Check out the full video here:
