By Rian Fearnehough
De Montfort University Lions coach Tayo Anderson is still hoping he can one day play American Football again as he works on recovering from knee surgery.
Tayo started playing football at a young age, after being introduced by seeing a gaming and getting involved while at a church youth camp.
After a year of watching shows and movies, he decided to give the sport a go and fell in love with it.
Tayo enjoyed his role as a wide receiver as this allowed him to score touchdowns and have a big contribution to the team.
Tayo began playing for his university team, which led to him playing after he had finished at university.
He said: “That’s when I had several knocks to the knee, the first of which was in June.
“I went up to catch a ball and had to stretch for it which led to an awkward landing where my knee got caught in the ground.”
This injury has caused Tayo lots of problems as on some days his knee would feel normal and allow him to walk around, however on other days he would really struggle with bending and moving it.
He added: “The day-to-day pain is frustrating the most and not being able to do what you could before surgery.
“It’s been so hard man, learning to walk again and trust the leg, wanting to go crazy and run and do things I’m not capable/safe to do yet.”
Having been an athlete, this was especially difficult for Tayo, especially when attending Lions practices as he was desperate to play again and would forget about his knee when he was near the field.
Due to this injury Tayo has now become aware of how many floor levels he climbs to or descends to as he tries to help his knee return to full health and avoid having to go through this again.
Despite his injury and experience, he insisted there was “no question” he would one day play again, showing his love and dedication to the sport.
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