Ronan Curtis Returns to Full Fitness After Knee Surgery

Ronan Curtis is moving like a man who has left the limp behind.

A year on from tearing his meniscus in pre-season and nursing it through week after week, the Plymouth Argyle winger says the pain, the swelling, and the tablets are gone. In their place: a clean bill of health and a clear mind.

“The knee's good,” he told BBC South West, a simple line that will sound like music to Argyle ears.

Curtis, 30, arrived at Home Park on a permanent deal from Port Vale in January and eased his way into life in green, scoring twice in 23 appearances across all competitions last season. Those numbers only tell part of the story. For much of that spell he was managing a knee that would flare up without warning, demanding medication just to get through games.

He played on. He pushed through. But he knew it could not last.

The decision came in the summer. Go under the knife, fix the problem properly, and trust his body again. The winger had carried the injury for almost a full campaign; the meniscus tear, suffered last pre-season, had become an unwanted shadow over his football.

“It was something that I needed to get done in the summer because the odd time it would swell up and taking too many tablets to get me through games and stuff like that,” he said. “But I'm all fit and healthy now.”

The difference is already visible. Curtis has started all five of Argyle's League One fixtures this season, an ever-present as the Pilgrims have opened with two wins and two defeats. He is no longer the player patching himself up between matches. He is part of the engine.

“But I managed to get it done this season, get the surgery and back to my fully fit best now,” he said. “I have all faith in myself to come back stronger, fitter and much better.”

That faith is central. Argyle need his edge out wide, his work-rate, his aggression in the final third. Curtis needs the rhythm of regular football without the nagging doubt of a knee that might balloon overnight.

For now, the equation is simple: the surgery is done, the tablets are gone, and the winger who once played through pain is finally playing on his own terms.