Olly Murs has detailed his horrific knee injury which saw him undergo major surgery (Image: Supplied)
Singer and TV star Olly Murs has seven Soccer Aid caps under his belt since 2010, and he will be adding to that haul on Sunday, May 31, when this year’s event, the 20th anniversary, takes place at the London Stadium, the home of West Ham. This will be just over a fortnight after the former The Voice judge completed a gruelling fundraising challenge to raise money for the cause – something that would have been unthinkable in recent times as he underwent four separate knee operations over the past seven years.
Renowned singer and television personality Olly Murs is set to participate in his eighth Soccer Aid event on Sunday, May 31. The event marks its 20th anniversary at the London Stadium, home to West Ham. This appearance will follow just weeks after Murs completed a demanding fundraising challenge, a feat unimaginable not long ago, as he has undergone four knee surgeries over the past seven years.
In an exclusive conversation with Express.co.uk, just before embarking on his “Into The Unknown” challenge—a combination of rowing and cycling to raise funds—the 42-year-old father of two opened up about the grueling surgeries he has endured to regain his fitness. “It’s not something for the faint-hearted,” he warned. “[People] don’t realize the extent of the work that has been done on my knee. They had to break my leg, realign my knee to bear weight properly, replace my meniscus with a donor’s, and reconstruct my ACL using my hamstring. My knee now has a plate and screws. All of this was necessary for me to live the life I do now,” he shared.
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Although he speaks about his experiences with a positive and realistic outlook today, Olly acknowledges he faced mental health challenges following his physical ordeals. “I had many tough days battling and struggling,” he admitted.
“How’s it going to be when I’m running. Am I ever going to be able to do anything else again? And can I dance? Am I going to be able to do the dance moves I’m used to doing?” He said, recalling the thoughts that tortured him during recovery.
“I didn’t know at the time, and I just had to trust the process,” he said.
Olly Murs was emotional as he completed his Soccer Aid fundraising challenge (Image: Getty)
Given how much he has gone through, it begs the question of why he would want to put himself under the physical pressure of his Into the Unknown challenge, which he completed on Friday, May 15, raising even more money for UNICEF. At the time of writing, he had hit over £800,000 in donations.
Over five days, he travelled 400km, tackling some of the UK’s most demanding terrain as he ran, rowed and cycled his way from Manchester’s Old Trafford, where Soccer Aid first kicked off two decades ago, to London Stadium, home of this year’s landmark match.
“My head tells me I can do it, and when I’ve got an idea in my mind, and I want to do something, I’ll go out and do it,” he said.
“But of course, on this challenge, I didn’t just accept it. I had to go through the right channels. And all the experts around me have said that, yeah, Olly, you can do it,” he confirmed.
Olly’s epic challenge was captured for a one-off special documentary which will air on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player on Friday 29 May at 9pm. You can donate at the website.