BELLE VUE & Redcar star Charles Wright has revealed that a three-hour operation to reconstruct his shoulder ‘saved his career’.
The gritty Stockport ace was back on a bike for the first time at the National Speedway Stadium this week since going under the knife last October.
Wright, 34, appeared at the Belle Vue press day on Wednesday after a rollercoaster winter with the crucial surgery and the birth of his first son Oskar on Christmas Day.
The ATPI Aces’ battler admitted for the first time that his racing career was on the line after several huge crashes.
Wright will be back in competitive action at the star-studded Peter Craven Memorial on Monday night at the National Speedway Stadium.
Wright said: “The shoulder operation saved my career, no doubt about it. I couldn’t have carried on. It was a total mess. I have been putting it off for the last two seasons.
“I’ve had it totally reconstructed. There’s seven anchors in to hold the bone together. The ligaments and bicep was torn. I also had arthritis in the shoulder.
“It was the result of a few crashes over the years. I had a bad pile-up at Redcar last June and the shoulder popped out again. It never felt the same.
“I was waking up in the morning and telling my partner Leanne that I was in a lot of pain and it was worry.
“Then it got worse because I crashed again at Wolves and Belle Vue, mainly because I was losing strength. Obviously adrenalin takes you so far but day-to-day life was a struggle.
“It was constantly on my mind going to meetings. That was hard to deal with because my missus is having to strap my shoulder up every day before leaving the house.
“After I had an MRI scan I told Belle Vue in June that I might not be able to carry on for the season. “The docs said after the MRI scan, he actually used these words ‘it’s a f*****g mess’.
“I said I’ve still got half a season so he said I know my body and book in the op later in the year. I still had bills to pay and races to win for Belle Vue.
“We don’t get sick pay. If it was a normal job I’d return to work when I was fit, but that doesn’t happen in speedway. We don’t ride, we don’t earn. I had no option to carry on in pain.”
After the dramatic op on Halloween came the Christmas baby. Wright and his fiancee Leanne certainly know how to deliver with iconic timing.
But baby Oskar has not only brought more responsibility to the household but Wright admits that the extra mouth to feed is another incentive.
He added: “Everything is good and I couldn’t ask for a better son with Oskar. It makes me work harder because I want him to be proud of me.
“He will go to a few meetings, not too many. I don’t want him traipsing round the country.
“Leanne has been amazing. She’s been my rock for over a decade of my life and Oskar really completes the family. I want him to have a normal upbringing, not just stuck in speedway vans going here, there and everywhere.”
Wright is not so keen, right now, for little Oskar to carry on the family dynasty of going onto the shale like his dad, uncle James and granddad Jim Yacoby.
He added: “I’ve got to be honest, I’d rather Oskar played for Manchester United or got a trade than ride speedway!
“I know that speedway gets into your blood and he might want to get on a bike. But I hope he’s good with a football or golf. It’s far more lucrative and less dangerous. I wouldn’t want him to go through the pain I have at times.”
Words by Holeshot Media.
Images by Taylor Lanning.