Mick Fanning’s First Post-Injury Surf In South Africa

Mick Fanning is back from the ankle injury that left his 2016 J-Bay Open campaign in doubt. Having shown up early to overcome the daunting task of his first surf at the wave where, last year, he was hit by a shark during the final, Mick tweaked his ankle and spent the next few days rehabbing. But…

“Good to go tomorrow!” Mick wrote. “Ankle will hopefully hold in for the event, had a surf on it this morning and went better than expected. Thanks to Elmien Hugo for working on it all week. Super excited to go again at the J-Bay Open.”

That surf, captured here by local shooter Ant Fox, saw Mick slicing up small Boneyards with BFF Joel Parkinson. While he wasn’t his usual electrified self, he was looking as solid as can be expected and, given the grit he’s shown throughout his career, will no doubt clench his teeth through any pain to win his first heat against Conner Coffin and Alejo Muniz.