Adrian Pang has revealed he will require surgery post career as he battles a chronic foot problem.
But the tough-as-nails Australian lightweight insists the injury won’t slow him down as he bids to return to the ONE Championship cage.
“I had some work on my ankle,” said Pang, who recently endured platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy.
“I’ve had an ongoing problem which has inhibited a lot of my movement and my kicking ability. I’m hoping it’s healing up, but I guess this week will be the test when I’m wrestling and kicking everyone again.
“At the moment it’s feeling a little bit better, but I still have a pinch there.”
The PRP procedure involves injecting your own blood into your tendon to help it heal.
Adrian Pang was bound to a wheelchair with his heavily bandaged foot and faced up to three weeks in recovery, but it wasn’t long until the 41-year-old Queenslander was back on his feet.
“I was supposed to stay off my feet for two weeks and not move around,” Pang said.
“They didn’t even want me walking around without crutches, but two or three days later I was back up and at it.
“I only get two weeks off a year with my kids and I wasn’t going to be laying on my back the whole time.”
“I’ve told ONE I’ll be ready to fight in March, whether they match me or not I don’t know.
“It’s really up to them.”
Pang revealed he was offered a bout at ONE: ETERNAL GLORY in Jakarta, but he needed more time in rehab.
“They wanted me to fight Koji Ando and I’ve been expecting that fight,” he disclosed.
“But January 18 meant I would’ve had to train right through Christmas, I couldn’t get the work done on my ankle – and I was I was in a wheelchair with my ankle – and I wasn’t going to sacrifice my one time off with my kids.
“They were really cool about it. They just said ‘let us know when you’re ready’ and I said I was looking at a return in March.”
In the twilight of his career, Pang said he would head in for surgery on his foot once his career is done and dusted.
“I’ve got floating bone in there – bone fragments – but I’ve worked out that if I have PRP injections it helps with the blood flow and helps keep it manageable,” he mentioned.
“So I will keep doing that throughout the year and it will help.”
Stay tuned for more updates on Adrian Pang and ONE Championship right here on BJPenn.com.
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 2/5/2019.