For months, he sat and agonized. Jorrit Croon watched as his teammates picked up where they left off after the Olympics, while he himself recovered from ankle surgery. Now he is fit enough to make his comeback. Croon has been selected for the Pro League matches in Australia, where he will most likely play his first international matches as Olympic champion.
It’s Friday afternoon. The Dutchmen are having lunch break on their last day of training before traveling to Australia. There, the Netherlands will play twice against the host country (Feb. 6 and 9) and twice against Spain (Feb. 4 and 7). While his teammates eat a sandwich in the lounge of Wagener Stadium, Croon starts to glow. For him, it’s like a holiday.
‘For the first time, I get to participate in everything in training,’ the 152-time international says, with endearing enthusiasm. ‘That also means another big game, of eleven against eleven. Playing all the duels. No more holding back. Ein-de-lijk.’
Croon with Thijs van Dam during the last training day of the Dutch national team before leaving for Australia. Photo: Willem Vernes
Extra early to the first training
It doesn’t take much human knowledge to see that the 152-time international is overjoyed to be back on the field. Croon sits with a fat grin as he talks about Jan. 6. His first training since the Olympics. ‘I rode together with Teun Beins. As former roommates, we’ve driven together countless times to the training of Oranje and our club Bloemendaal. This time I asked if he could pick me up extra early. I could enjoy it even longer. I even enjoyed packing my sports bag the night before. Had to look for my stuff. Because, of course, it had been a while.’
His injury story is well known. In the quarterfinal win against Australia, Croon fell unhappily and landed on his ankle. Painkillers and anesthetics allowed him to continue the tournament, but then he got the bill: a ligament in his ankle was broken. He underwent surgery and knew his recovery would take three months. ‘I think a lot of people underestimate how tough it has been,’ he sounds serious.
‘I heard a lot of times: I would have done the same thing. It’s logical that you handled it that way. It’s been worth it. True, I didn’t regret continuing after that injury. I still don’t. It worked out well. But that’s especially easy to say in hindsight, with that gold plaque in my pocket. At the time it happened, we had nothing. There was even a chance that we would leave Paris without a medal. I fucked up my ankle, but I had no guarantee it would amount to anything.’
In duel with Boris Aardenburg, who may make his debut with the Orange in the coming weeks. Photo: Willem Vernes
The extreme difference with the gold final
He thinks back to a moment at the physio. A few weeks after his surgery. ‘I had to pull my foot up, make it convex. But nothing happened. After a few tries, a tiny bit of movement came. It was exactly a month after the Olympic final. The most important competition of my life. And right after that, suddenly you can’t do something so simple. Well, try to cheer someone up. Hardly anyone succeeded in that period. I was really unbearable. For me it was a tough and lonely period, because I really like nothing better than playing field hockey.
His smile only returned when he was holding a stick again. ‘I started sneaking picks a few times. Couldn’t resist,’ Croon laughed. ‘During my rehabilitation, I walked my rounds at the fields of AMVJ, in Amsterdam. Of course, at one point then I also brought my stick and a ball bag. That was already very nice. At Orange we built up my load more and more. In the beginning I didn’t play duels. I stepped out at the end. But fortunately it became more and more real.’
The smile is back with Croon. Photo: Willem Vernes
Symbolic comeback on the way
He himself estimates that he is at 95 percent of his fitness level. His ankle still lacks some mobility, Croon states. ‘But I’m not worried about that. I feel more pain in the rest of my body after a workout. My hamstrings, knees, calves. I haven’t taxed those like this in the past few months either. I am happy with the build-up. Because now I can participate in everything in Australia.’
Because yes, he is finally getting there. Croon his first match as Olympic champion. ‘Maybe against Australia. Against whom all this mess started. Would be symbolic. On the other hand: the opponent doesn’t matter much to me either. I’m there again. That’s what it was all about.’
by Hockey.nl
