(Photo: Getty Images)
By Dan Barnes
ANYTIME soon, Steve Magoffin will finally be able to release his foot from the trappings of its protective boot – his mind will then turn to throwing off the shackles at the tail-end of this season.
Never mind that most of the 37-year-old’s campaign with Sussex has been wrecked with injury; the veteran seamer has no plans to consider his future in the game and is instead targeting a return to the fold in September.
Former Western Australia man Magoffin has only managed two County Championship appearances so far this summer, with a knee injury hampering his efforts before he tore an Achilles tendon against Worcestershire at Hove on June 2.
After seven weeks on the sidelines, the Sussex man will begin his rehabilitation in earnest and insists that he is determined to keep on playing his part at Hove despite his body creaking so late in his career.
“To be fair, I’ve had a five or six-year period where I was relatively lucky in terms of injuries – I think I only missed one County Championship game for Sussex leading in to this season,” said Magoffin.
“These things happen and I’ve just got to get myself back, hopefully get back in the first team, and show that I can perform.
“To have the knee injury, which frankly wasn’t as serious as it could have been at the time, and then to pick up this Achilles one; it’s been a bit of a kick in the teeth.
“I’ve been in a moon boot for six weeks and I haven’t really been able to do much at all except rest my ankle, really, but that looks like it’s going to come off at the end of this week, which is good news.
“It’s all seemingly healed really well after my last scan, so once it’s off, I can then start the actual process of getting back to playing, which will still take five or six weeks.
“Hopefully, by the end of August, I’ll be back up and ready again. Then there are four games in September, which I’m certainly looking to be available for.
“I still want to play so this hasn’t made me think that I want to retire or anything like that.
“Thankfully, in terms of getting through this period, it does give me a good goal to aim for at the end of it all.
“I know that if I really do all the hard work, I should be able to get myself back out there to perform to my expectations.”
Magoffin couldn’t be more settled at Sussex under coach Mark Davis. He applied for a UK passport two years ago and has two children with his British wife – four-year-old son George, who is due to start school in September, and 18-month-old daughter Holly.
He has helped coach in both Sussex’s second XI and academy set-ups during his injury lay-off and feels far from ready to call things a day.
Magoffin added: “I’ve still got a huge desire to get back and play this game. I don’t feel like it’s quite ready for me to walk away yet and I still feel like I’ve got enough to contribute.”
