Wellington Phoenix talisman Paul Ifill is determined to continue playing football despite facing eight to 12 months rehabilitation after sustaining a grade 3 rupture of the Achilles tendon in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Sydney FC at Westpac Stadium.
Wellington Phoenix talisman Paul Ifill is determined to continue playing football despite facing eight to 12 months rehabilitation after sustaining a grade 3 rupture of the Achilles tendon in Sunday-s 1-0 win over Sydney FC at Westpac Stadium.
Ifill was tonight resting at home after undergoing an operation to mend the tendon and was in a typically defiant mood.
“Football has been my life and I want to continue playing at whatever level I can,” Ifill, 34, said.
“Whether it is in the park with my mates, in the ASB Championship or the A-League I will be playing.
“I will do the rehab and then see where we are but no way am I going to call it a day.”
The Barbados international said the injury was a massive shock and at first he thought someone had trodden on him.
“I went to push off then heard a bang and thought someone had trod on my Achilles.
“I thought ‘that has to be a foul- and then realised there was no-one around me and the pain was so intense.”
It will be the third successive year that Ifill has spent Christmas in a moon boot.
In 2011 he broke his leg playing against Newcastle Jets on December 18.
The following year he had an ankle operation on December 21 and the latest injury came on December 22.
Showing he hadn-t lost his sense of humour Ifill said: “You can tell Ernie that if I do come back I won-t be playing in December!”
