Bellew admits ‘pain is real’ after surgery on Achilles injury

Tony Bellew has admitted the ‘pain is real’ after sharing an update on the Achilles injury he suffer at Soccer Aid. 

The retired legendary boxer hobbled off the pitch in anguish during the charity clash on ITV having suffered a nasty non-contact issue. 

When Bellew was injured during the game, commentator Sam Matterface said Tony had told them ‘something went bang and I heard it go.’

And the 42-year-old Evertonian shared an update on social media having undergone surgery. 

He wrote: ‘Long road back and the pain is real but I wouldn’t change anything! There is no better cause than @UNICEF_uk imo. The greater the setback the better the comeback!! 

‘Thank you to everyone at ITV and all of my soccer aid teammates and staff for helping me through..” 

On Instagram, he said: ‘Op done! My Achilles is back together. I’m now back in the pain game, I’m under no illusion this is gonna be really hard to come back from but I refuse to give in! The greater the setback the better the comeback!

‘I can’t thank all the staff behind the scenes and my team mates @socceraid for their support [enough]. 

‘It’s meant a lot it really has. Thank you to @itv for taking care of me and prioritising my treatment and recovery. They’ve been amazing, they really have!’

On TalkSport, Bellew previously said: ‘There were 60,000 people inside Old Trafford on Sunday and I heard the snap. 

‘I thought someone had shot me, I genuinely looked behind me and thought someone had shot me. My plan is to be ready for next year to go again back at Soccer Aid.’

Bellew now works as a pundit and co-commentator having hung up his gloves following his defeat by Oleksandr Usyk in 2018. 

He enjoyed a stellar career, losing only to Usyk, Adonis Stevenson and Nathan Cleverley and beating David Haye in two high-profile bouts towards the end.