Mikey Wright Pulls Out Of Margaret River Event, Cites Ongoing Back Injury

That WSL has reported that Mikey Wright is out of the 2019 Margaret River Pro, citing an ongoing back injury as the primary reason.

Replacing Mikey Wrightwill be Portugal’s Frederico Morais, who fell off the CT in 2018. 

The WSL conducted an interview with Mikey about his decision to withdraw. We’ve copied some of that below:

Walk us through your decision to withdraw from the Margaret River Pro.

The reason why I’m pulling out of WA is that I made a pact to myself that if I start to have pain in heats, I’ll stop and get it fixed. 

It started at Bells and I pushed through to Bali, but couldn’t keep doing it to myself. After being in pain and not sleeping for a month and a half, you start to feel like you’re going a little loopy. 

WSL: What happened at Bells?

Mikey Wright: At the start of Bells, I had Rhabdomyolysis which put me in hospital for two and a half days on an IV drip. I got out on Wednesday, the 17th, the day the comp started. 

Then on Thursday, I was surfing small waves and hurt my lower back. Since then, I’ve been in a lot of pain and trying to do whatever I can to keep pushing through and keep on going, with the WSL doctors helping me through it.

Is this related to the back problems you were having last year?

It is related, but I was almost back to 100% before Snapper started. Then after Bells, it put me back a long way in the healing … but I’ll be back again and strong. 

What’s your plan for rehab treatment, and when can we hope to see you back?

What’s next is just focus on getting it better and make sure I see the right people and getting it back to being strong and pain-free. And also get a bit of sleep in, haha.

Looking at this issue from 30,000 feet, one can’t help but notice a similarity between Mikey and his siblings, Tyler and Owen Wright, who have also suffered elongated injuries while on Tour.

Boasting three surfers concurrently on the CT, the Wrights have gained the status of surfing’s strongest bloodline, however their fearless approach in the water has led to career-altering injuries. Owen kicked it off with a year-long brain bleed earned by duckdiving a double-up at Pipeline, while sister Tyler has been out for nearly a year with Influenza A and post-viral syndrome.

Point being, when the Wrights fall, they have a tendency to fall hard. 

Best of luck to Mikey in his recovery (and Tyler as well). Margie’s won’t be the same with them.