He is bracing himself to being away from hockey for at least six months after the World Cup, having scheduled the operation in January.
Dutch forward Thijs van Dam was running around like a hare in the quarterfinals against India on Thursday. Two evenings ago, he pumped in a couple of goals in Netherlands’ cross-over match against Canada that set up the last-eight clash.
But around six months ago, the 21-year-old was faced with a tricky dilemma.
Van Dam was told by doctors back home that his right hip — which gave him persistent trouble over the last three years — needed surgery, else it threatened to derail his international hockey career that had just got on the track last year.
But going under the knife meant that van Dam would have to give the 2018 Hockey World Cup a miss, a tournament he desperately wanted to experience for the first time with his Netherlands team.
The risk-vs-reward ratio was taken into consideration, and a decision was made.
“The surgery should have been done before the World Cup, but I have decided to do it after this tournament so that I can play here,” van Dam told DNA.
He is bracing himself to being away from hockey for at least six months after the World Cup, having scheduled the operation in January. Any further delay, and it can cause serious damage to his hip, which has been affected by an unusual bone growth after a recurring period of damage.
“If I go too long, if I play for any longer, and I do nothing about it, then it can be a problem for my career,” van Dam, with 38 international caps to his name, said.
The boy from Delft, who is also completing his vocational training course in commercial economics, said he decided to take the World Cup gamble only after confirming that there was no immediate danger of continuing with his game.
“When the doctors checked my hip about six months ago, it didn’t look good. But that was the moment I said I will do whatever it requires only after the World Cup. And now, I’m very happy to be here,” van Dam said.
He’s not just here, he’s moving alright on the field too.
Know van Dam
Full name: Thijs van Dam
Age: 21
Position: Forward
International debut: 2017
International caps: 38
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