Former cricketer and AFL rookie Guy Walker reveals how innocuous bump left him with painful condition
Former Melbourne Renegade and Demon rookie Guy Walker left the elite system at 24 with a nerve-related issue that will affect the rest of his life. He opens up on his physical and mental agony as he attempts to earn compensation.
Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
You might not have heard about Guy Walker, but chances are growing up you wanted to live his sporting dream.
By 23 he had played under-19 cricket for Australia, made his Big Bash debut for the Melbourne Renegades and then jumped codes to join Melbourne’s AFL list.
Now at 24, he is facing the prospect of living his life with a permanent disability.
Walker is unable to use his right arm in any meaningful capacity after suffering a severe nerve injury in his neck while trying out at the Demons as a Category B rookie.
Relive classic AFL matches from the 60s to today on KAYO SPORTS. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly~
Like ex-GWS and Hawthorn defender Tim Mohr, who lodged a compensation claim with the AFL last week because of a permanent leg disability, Walker has been left wondering whether it was all worth it given he spends so much of his day in agony.
Walker’s condition, called Suprascapular neuropathy, was caused by an innocuous bump in a collision with teammate Toby Bedford in the last session before Christmas in the 2018-19 pre-season period.
He has less than 50 per cent of function in his shoulder, meaning he can be left writhing in pain for minutes from something as simple as opening a car door or reaching for a glass on a top shelf.
Walker had hoped to become a cricket coach at the end of his playing career but the former explosive fast bowler realises he will never throw a cricket ball again.
“I have been super lucky to be a professional at both my loves as a kid but this is the ugly side of sport,” Walker told the Herald Sun this week.
“Unfortunately my career didn’t work out for me but I never thought I would come out of sport with a disability in my preferred shoulder.
“Physically, mentally and emotionally it is so hard.
“Regular tasks are hard. Last week getting into the car with my girlfriend I opened the car door with my right arm in its most vulnerable position and I had to sit in the car for five minutes just curled up in a ball.
“I describe the pain as ten times worse than the day after a major shoulder surgery and it lasts longer. You go to bed thinking, ‘Will I wake up in agony or wake up OK?’.
“Just regular tasks like showering and making dinners ... It’s been a tough road so far and the thing I worry about is down the line.
“I am only 24 now. What will I be like at 30? I will never be able to lift my kids up.”
Walker represented Australia at the 2014 under-19 World Cup and signed a Victorian Bushrangers contract, making his Big Bash debut for the Melbourne Renegades.
But he had a shoulder reconstruction and was thrust into two years of injury hell.
He lost his cricket contract and then Melbourne won the race to sign the former footballer as a Category B rookie.
“I was going really well and training for the first time in three or four years and just loving it and then in the session before Christmas with the last kick I tore my quad and got a hit to my shoulder,” Walker said.
“I came back a few weeks later and the doctor asked how my quad was.
“I took my top off and he had a look at my shoulder and I could see his face. He was in shock. He even took a picture of it.
“I lost all the muscle in my shoulder, my neck, my trap (trapezius muscle).
“We found out I nearly severed a nerve in my neck and then what happens is you lose all muscle and structure in the neck, shoulder, trap.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE HERALD SUN FOOTY PODCAST HERE
“I got told from different specialists I shouldn’t even worry about playing sport again, I need to try to live my life again.
“After 18 months of recovery what you get back is what you have for the rest of your life and I only have a couple of months left and I only have 40 per cent of function.”
He has been told by multiple specialists and surgeons the neck injury was just a freak occurrence not related to his previous shoulder issues.
The AFLPA’s support for past players is multi-layered, with clubs picking up the tab for football-related operations for 18 months.
Players can secure funds for a career-ending injury to give them time to set up the next chapters of their life.
And if they opt into a policy for total and permanent disability (TPD) through their superannuation program there is another safeguard.
MORE AFL NEWS:
Sam Groth column: AFL players can play a role in crisis by moving to hubs
Inside story of Michael Voss’ glittering career and 1996 Brownlow winning season
Players unfairly targeted after AFL delivered its radical restart proposal, writes Mark Robinson
The criteria for that TPD fund softened early last year, with some critics of the fund believing it catered more for construction workers than footballers given players needed to lose a limb or eye to access it.
Players can now make a claim if they can’t meet “two activities of daily work” which centres around being able to lead a normal life.
But in Walker’s case he does not believe he is suitable for that claim but could eventually attempt to win some compensation.
“I am only 24 and I have the next 60 years to live with this shoulder. It has taken a real mental and emotional toll,” he said.
“I am not bitter at anyone, or trying to bring down anyone. But I left the game as a 24-year-old and have a pretty serious injury that will affect me for the rest of my life.
“The main focus is we need to have something there for the players in the future.”
Originally published as Former cricketer and AFL rookie Guy Walker reveals how innocuous bump left him with painful condition
Socceroos hope to emulate famous win
The feeling the Socceroos had after their famous win over Japan at the 2006 FIFA World Cup is something national coach Tony Popovic wants his players to also experience in Saitama on Tuesday night.
Blockbuster trade flipped on its head
One of the biggest names on the AFL’s trade table has been left in limbo after a blockbuster three-team move was sensationally snubbed.