Liam Pitchford recovering after hip resurfacing surgery by Professor Damian Griffin

Liam Pitchford has started the next stage of rehabilitation after a hip resurfacing operation in London that aims to restore mobility and keep his Olympic ambitions on track. The surgery, carried out by Professor Damian Griffin in a hospital in St John’s Wood, involved reshaping the right hip and fitting ceramic surfaces with temporary fixation to address cartilage damage and bone-on-bone friction that Pitchford had been managing since the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Pitchford described the operation in detail: “He cut part of the bone off, dislocated the hip, shaved the bone down and made it the right shape. He put a ceramic coating at the top of my femur and in the lining of my hip socket and then put the bone back which he’d cut off, and screwed it in with two metal screws.” Post-operative imaging shows the ceramic surface on the top of the right femur and two temporary pins holding the reattached bone, which are now healing.

The decision to operate was taken after discussions with Professor Griffin and England physio Justin Lucas-Hill, with Pitchford explaining the timing in relation to his long-term plan: “We spoke about my goal to get to LA and do five Olympics and he said I needed to have it now.” Pitchford accepted that “[Surgery] is not an easy decision to make, but hopefully it is one for the best,” and added that “I’ll try and come back stronger.”

Initial post-op restrictions included six weeks on crutches and an early program that permitted upper-body training and use of a static bike. Pitchford told reporters he had “quite a big scar down the side of my right hip now and I’m on crutches for six weeks then start my rigorous rehab.” He has since progressed off the crutches and moved into the next rehabilitation phase.

A precise return-to-play date is not yet clear, but Major League Table Tennis reported that Pitchford is expected to miss at least 4-6 months. The operation has immediate competitive consequences: Pitchford was ruled out of WTT Star Contender London 2025 and the European Championships and has been placed on injured reserve with the Florida Crocs, missing the Crocs’ Week 1 matches while supporting the team from home. Pitchford’s recent MLTT numbers underline the squad impact: a 64.4% singles win rate (29-16), 46.7% doubles (14-16) and 51.5% in Golden Games (52-101). He was the first overall pick in last year’s MLTT Draft and a Season 2 MVP finalist.

For club players, coaches and fans, Pitchford’s surgery is a reminder that elite careers often hinge on surgical and rehab choices. Expect updates on his staged physiotherapy milestones and any changes to competition entries as he targets fitness for the 2026 World Team Championships in London and his longer-term goal of Los Angeles.