Ronan Curtis is moving like a man who has left the limp behind.
The Plymouth Argyle winger, now 30, says he has suffered no reaction from the knee surgery that threatened to nag at the edges of his career. Instead, he has started every one of Argyle’s five League One games this season, a constant presence in a side still feeling its way into the campaign with two wins and two defeats.
“The knee's good,” he told BBC South West. Simple words, but for a player who spent last season managing pain, they carry weight.
Curtis joined Argyle permanently from Port Vale in January and chipped in with two goals across 23 appearances in all competitions. Those numbers only tell part of the story. Behind them sat a meniscus tear picked up in pre-season, a problem he chose to play through rather than fix.
He gritted his teeth, nursed the joint, and pushed on.
“I got the surgery in the summer, it was something that I did last pre-season, had a slight meniscus tear but I could play through the pain just managing it through last season,” he explained.
The price of that choice was familiar to any seasoned pro: swelling after games, a growing reliance on tablets, and the constant calculation of how much the body could take.
“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, but I'm all fit and healthy now.”
This time, he chose the long view. Operation. Rehab. Reset.
The reward is showing now. Curtis looks and feels like a player unshackled, insisting he is “back to my fully fit best now” and backing himself to kick on from here.
“I have all faith in myself to come back stronger, fitter and much better,” he said, the conviction clear.
For Argyle, that belief matters. A fully firing Curtis offers energy, direct running and experience on the flank in a division where small margins decide whether a season drifts or ignites.
The knee has been fixed. The question now is how far his renewed body can help drive Argyle in a League One campaign that is only just beginning to take shape.
