Reynolds injured his knee during his stay in Hawaii late last month. He'd nevertheless surfed the Billabong Pipeline Masters on what looked like a bad wheel earlier in the month, which means his problem has been nagging him for a while. In an effort to fix the problem once and for all Dane is headed for surgery tomorrow.
After a few hard landings in Hawaii Dane Reynold's has been grounded by a knee injury. Photo: ASP/KirstinThings could have been worse. Apparently the doctors feel the injury isn't as bad as they originally feared. "The good news is that it's not an ACL injury," said Quiksilver's Michael Crawley. Crawley told Australia's Coastal Watch. "Once the damage is repaired he'll be back in better form than before."
Recovery will keep Reynolds out of the water for up to ten weeks, which puts his appearance at the first stop of the 2011 ASP season in serious doubt. The waiting period for the Quiksliver Pro begins February 26.
Dane finished fourth in the world last year, a feat all the more impressive given it looked like he was putting very little mental effort into his mission. He's regarded by many as the best surfer on tour. Like many surfers, he's expressed doubts about a life of traveling from contest to contest. Those doubts have turned into speculation on whether he wouldn't even come back in 2011, after he expressed some of his feelings to STAB Magazine.
Either way, ten weeks on the sidelines will give Reynolds plenty of time for soul searching. The big question is whether being forced out of the water is more or less likely to light a fire under his ass. The clock is ticking.
2 Comments
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Posted by danecurren January 17, 2011 08:19pm PSTReply | Report Abuse
If Dane quits the tour this would be one of the biggest let downs in surfing history. The entire world "waits" to see Dane's heats with equal enthusiasm as one of Kelly's heats. I hate to say this but I'd be interested to see these guys trade in surfing income with a "9 to 5" income. It would suck. This gift that is given to someone like Dane should not go to waste. I would be so pissed to see him leave the tour and just let a bunch of Aussie's pocket some titles. Nobody surfs as exciting as Dane and I hope he realizes he will have "plenty" of time to be a free surfer. I'm 43 and going strong as ever. Kelly's pushing 40 and he's stronger than ever. A lot f the big wave riders are in their 40's so Dane has plenty of time to retire. Stick it out bro and show us what you were put on this earth for - to entertain us. I don't want you to turn into a Jamie O'Brien. Someone good enough to kill it on the tour but would prefer to free surf. He will soon be forgotten along with Bruce Irons. I think Quicksilver should pay Kelly extra money to train and motivate Dane into a 5 time world champ - minimum.
Posted by simon moore April 2, 2011 09:55am PDTReply | Report Abuse
Dane is THE MAN!! On a bunch of levels he really blows my mind. I don't know him, other than watching and observing him like the rest of the surfing community. His surfing stands on its own and he has pushed the bar for above the lip modern surfing. He will forever be in the surfing history books and recognized for his creative and original talent. He also has a strong artistic/creative personality so it is no surprise that his mind is not really geared to be Mr. Competitive. Maybe more like the Tim Burton of surfing only not so dark. He even tries to find the balance between the tour life vs his own creative interests, film, photography, art, etc. He also defies the norm in American culture where everyone is always trying to be a BRAND. Yes, he does what he needs to do, but he is the last guy to whore himself out. I follow and froth at the mouth over every tour stop, but I am aware that the tour is a media machine designed to push products. Sad but true. Dane on the other hand has a whole lot more creative offering for us than to simply just push product. Yep, I would be bummed if he left the tour.. on the other hand his home movies are GREAT so maybe that is going to be his next creative venture. Regardless, I support Dane pursuing the dream, whatever that maybe. Best of luck to him!!
DC
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