Pain Lane to Game Lane

Pain Lane to Game Lane

When Ben Lane first felt stiffness in his ankle during his Malaysia Open 2025 quarterfinal match in January, he shrugged it off.

“I’ve never had the pain so I didn’t know what it was,” he says now. But then “something didn’t feel quite right”.

Over the next weeks, the discomfort worsened. By February, an MRI revealed the culprit: an os trigonum, a small extra bone that sits behind the ankle joint, present in about five to 10 per cent of people. Most never know they have it but for athletes who spend hours pushing up on their toes, it can get pinched between the ankle bones causing intense pain and inflammation. Ballerinas are the most prone to such an injury.

“I’m not quite as graceful as a ballerina I’m afraid,” Lane chuffed “but it’s common in basketball players and football”.

With important tournaments such as the All England and European Championships approaching, he opted to delay surgery.

“I had a steroid injection that eased the inflammation. For about six weeks the pain was gone, then it started again on the Monday of the All England.”

He soldiered on with tape and painkillers.

“At the start, adrenaline and painkillers were working but then my body got used to them. I couldn’t even point my toe towards the end.”

After the Singapore Open, the 28-year-old underwent surgery. Recovery proved tougher than expected.

“I couldn’t drive for six weeks. You don’t realise how much you need to drive. I couldn’t even go to the shop for milk,” he laughed.

For the earliest weeks of his recovery, his mother and girlfriend cared for him relentlessly.

“For the first 10 days my foot had to be elevated. My mum did everything; cooked, helped me get around. She is amazing.”

Unable to train fully, he turned idle hours into productivity.

“I planned my brother’s wedding. I rehearsed my best man’s speech every day. I still went on the stag do. I wasn’t missing it, even if I was on crutches.”

Amid the ankle chaos, Lane also paid a rare visit to Wimbledon, thanks to a member ticket from his aunt Joanne Louis, a former British tennis pro who reached a career-high world ranking of No.282 in August 1987 and played in the Wimbledon main draw in the mid 1980s.

Now eight weeks out from surgery, he is back on court in unrestricted training.

“I have to be careful because I’m ahead of schedule. Although it feels good, I can’t just go straight back into what I was doing.”

With the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2025 looming, his plan is simple, train smart and stay sharp.

“I’ve been doing everything I can in the gym and on court. This is my first major surgery so I don’t know what to expect coming back but I feel quite confident Sean (Vendy) and I can perform and play well. In men’s doubles, anyone in the top 20 can beat anyone, it’s about who’s prepared best, who’s feeling good and who can get momentum,” said Lane.

“I’ve had the surgery, now get to the World Championships and make it count.”