Bradley Davies: Wales lock recovers after being struck down by Covid-19

Wales second-row Bradley Davies joined Ospreys from Wasps in 2016

Wales lock Bradley Davies has revealed his relief at recovering from a serious case of Covid-19 and being able to return to action.

Davies was diagnosed with the illness in January as he was recovering from a shoulder injury.

The 34-year-old only returned to the field last month and admitted he was scared at the effect of the illness.

"It's nice to be back on the field and still be alive the way things went," said Davies.

The Ospreys forward was rehabilitating after suffering a shoulder problem in the defeat to Munster in November 2020.

He was not hospitalised but needed to monitor his oxygen levels at home to help in his recovery.

"I had that nasty shoulder injury and midway through my rehab I caught Covid quite bad," said Davies.

"That put me back four or five weeks. I got tested then went home and trained in my garage and felt fine.

"I hit the wall then. My wife was peeling me off the sofa every day and realised it was quite bad. It was ridiculous and I wish it on nobody. It was quite sketchy.

"I bought an oxygen monitor after being told by the doctor, it was quite low at one point and I was probably on the verge of falling off the sofa.

"I am fine now, but it is not a laughing matter because it was terrible."

Davies admitted he was concerned about his long-term health.

"I was definitely scared because of the way it affects you," he added.

"When I had it, I typed Covid-19 into Google and it comes up with a list of symptoms.

"I was going top to bottom every day and ticking them off.

"Migraine? Yes. Loss of taste and smell? Yes. It went all the way down to the bottom. At first, I was lucky because it did not affect my lungs, but in the end it did.

"I remember I was sat at the end of my sofa watching TV and my wife said I was sounding funny and I was wheezing. It was shocking, but I am over it and I don't want to have it again."

Davies said it has had a prolonged effect as he battled back to the training field.

"It has probably taken me an extra month or so to get my lungs back," added Davies.

"It was difficult to run and it was pretty bleak at one stage

"Maybe I trained too hard when I had it at first. I should have listened to my wife, but I went into the garage and was training on my bike for five hours. The next day, I was on the floor."

Davies admitted he was a little sceptical about the seriousness of Covid-19 before he was struck down by the illness.

"It's not like I've taken things for granted because I've been very careful. When the lockdown restrictions came in, I stuck by them to the letter," Davies said.

"I was good and never went out. To catch it was the biggest surprise to me because I hadn't been anywhere.

"I've got two young children so I was worried about them and on my wife's side I didn't want it to spread to her mum and dad.

"I was more worried about infecting someone else, so I literally locked myself in my wardrobe for 14 days.

"I did pass it on to my wife. She was positive about five or six days later than me and was bad for a couple of days. I was more worried about infecting my children or family."

Davies admits his experiences have made him reflect on a career which includes 66 Wales caps.

"We're engrained as players to only look back on our careers when we're right at the end," added Davies.

"I have achieved a lot and there are still things I'd like to achieve, but it can easily be taken away from everyone. I'm just lucky."

Davies returned to action in April and has made two replacement appearances against Cardiff Blues and Scarlets. He believes returning to the team environment was good for everybody concerned.

"I love interaction with the lads," he added.

"I was in the house with my wife telling her jokes she did not really get, so I am glad to be back with the boys."