"You’ll be lucky to run again" - Spencer Johnson reveals his injury struggles

Australia's young paceman Spencer Johnson has revealed that he was almost forced to retire from cricket after undergoing two surgeries on his ankle. The left-arm seamer admitted that it feels excellent to come out on the other side of the struggles and that he is looking forward to having a fulfilling career.

Johnson grabbed the spotlight during The Hundred this year as he took figures of 3-1 against Manchester Originals in his 20-ball spell, consisting of 19 dots. It led to the youngster's international debut. Johnson played two T20Is during Australia's tour of South Africa this year, taking just two wickets.

Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, Johnson reflected that he had an ankle stress fracture in his early 20s and took some time to recover from it. He said:

"I had a couple of surgeries, and after the first surgery, the doctor said ‘you’ll be lucky to play again’ – so you didn’t really want to hear that at 22 years old. And then after the second one, he said ‘you’ll be lucky to run again’.

"The main ones have been my ankle. I had my ankle stress fracture when I was 20 or 21, it just took longer than we would have liked. To come out the other side now, it makes everything feel worth it, but there were some tough times."

The 27-year-old reflected that all those struggles have made him the player he is today, elaborating:

"I think perspective for me is I look back to where I was 12 months ago – even 18 months ago, not contracted – any bad days you do have ... you can always look back and think ‘I could be here, now I’m here’. It’s made me who I am as a player, and as a person. I think being younger, I was a bit naive."

With the national team not set to play limited-overs cricket until February, the South Australian will not don the yellow colors anytime soon. However, he would want to shore up his selection chances by performing well in the upcoming edition of the Big Bash League.

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"It is absolutely a goal" - Spencer Johnson on playing the 2024 T20 World Cup

Spencer Johnson. (Image Credits: Twitter)

With Australia tasting success in the 2023 ODI World Cup, Johnson has asserted that he wants to play in a potential title-winning campaign next year. He added, via the aforementioned source:

"It is absolutely a goal. The Aussies had great success in India, winning the ODI World Cup, and I didn't miss a ball of it. Sitting on the couch watching was driving me to return...hopefully fit and performing well to be available to get picked next year."

Australia won their 1st T20 World Cup in 2021, beating New Zealand in the final. They reached their first final in the 2010 edition, where they lost to England by seven wickets.