BEING OUT with injury can be a tough and often lonely place. So it helps to have friends to lean on, as Billy Searle has discovered on his road to recovery.

Following a shocking ankle injury, he has been working hard behind the scenes with Wasps team-mates Dan Robson and Jack Willis, grinding with the coaches and physios and using WOW HYDRATE’s products to get back on his feet.

The young fly-half had burst into the team and made his mark, but just as he was building momentum last term, disaster struck. As he explains: “It was a terrible time for me to get injured.

“I had confidence going into the game against my old team away at Bristol. It was a Friday night and a lot of family and friends came to watch so I was absolutely gutted. The game was going really well until the start of the second half when the incident happened.

“The injury was pretty horrific, I looked down at my ankle and it was at a right angle, I had dislocated my ankle and fractured my fibia, the pain was horrendous, it was pure agony and that’s all I really remember.”

The ten was in a cast for five weeks. He lost 7kg and when he was finally cast-free, he discovered his calf was “completely dead” – he had to build his leg up again.

He became the first in to training and the last to leave. He was working with strength and conditioning coaches, working intensely with physio David Breen, and leaving no stone unturned.

WOW HYDRATE became part of his comeback campaign.

“WOW HYDRATE have been a massive support for me during my injury and their products have helped me throughout my recovery,” Searle says.

“The Collagen Protein in their drinks has helped me strengthen my joints and ligaments and stimulate my muscle growth which has been important in building up my damaged leg.

“Their electrolyte drink which has a push cap that contains vitamins has also had equal importance in my recovery as the nutrients in the drink have helped repair my body tissues, treat inflammation and regulate my sleep throughout my healing process.”

So what is it like being locked away, doing rehab and working your way back to on-pitch training?

“It’s hard to adapt during a long injury lay-off. There is lots of time to think about things and it can be quite lonely but I’m a positive person, you have good days and bad days. I’ve been lucky to have the support of Dan Robson and Jack Willis throughout my rehab as they have both suffered injuries. We’ve been pushing each other and it has been good to share the ups and downs with the lads during our recovery together.

“I had lots of support from people in the game which was great. Danny Cipriani messaged me which was a huge boost to me as he had suffered a similar injury.

“I have resumed training this week after being sidelined for seven months, I’m feeling fit and strong after my rehabilitation and my ankle is strong. Hopefully I can get back playing very soon and break into the team again.”

That must come as music to the ears of any passionate Wasps fan.

The sugar free electrolyte water and protein water has a unique push-cap technology which releases fresh ingredients into its water and is stocked in Tesco, Morrisons, Whole Foods and online at Amazon and Ocado. 

More information at www.wowhydrate.com

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