GWS Giants veteran Josh Kelly has admitted he weighed up retirement last season, with a debilitating hip injury leaving him unable to perform basic daily tasks and questioning whether his body could withstand elite sport any longer.
The 31-year-old midfielder, a mainstay at the club since being taken with the second overall pick in the 2013 national draft, described the toll of a “horror injury” that had been steadily worsening. At its peak, the pain stopped Kelly from tying his own shoelaces or sitting comfortably on a couch. Walking up stairs became a chore. A poor performance against the Western Bulldogs in Canberra last year — when Kelly felt he contributed nothing as the game hung in the balance — proved a turning point.
“I was just so exhausted by it all,” Kelly told News Corp. “For such a long time I was just trying to grind through, but that night in Canberra it tipped over. When the game was on the line I did nothing … I thought I had played my last game. That was really hard and it felt like I was throwing in the towel, but there was this moment where I realised I just can’t do it alongside these guys anymore.”
Teammates Toby Greene and Stephen Coniglio were aware Kelly was giving everything, but the physical limitations had become insurmountable. The injury, which Kelly had been managing for several seasons, sapped his power and restricted his training. In 2024 he had a separate hip operation that did not significantly hamper his pre-season, yet persistent pain continued to dog him. The 2025 campaign saw him manage only 15 appearances, missing a month of games, and it became clear that a more radical solution was required.
‘Andy Murray surgery’: The hip resurfacing procedure
Kelly opted for a hip resurfacing operation, the same procedure that extended tennis great Andy Murray’s career in 2019. The surgery is considered unprecedented in the AFL — no currently playing AFL footballer is known to have undergone it. Hip resurfacing differs from a total hip replacement in that it preserves more of the patient’s own bone, making it a suitable choice for younger, athletic individuals. The procedure reshapes the ball of the femur (the femoral head) and the socket of the hip joint (the acetabulum) to accept two new metal implants.
For Kelly, the surgeon shaved off bone spurs and the top layer of his femur. A metal cap was then placed on the femur, and the top and bottom surfaces of his hip joint were relined. The surgery was scheduled for late October 2025. Post-operation, Kelly said he felt as though he had been hit by a bus.
“I feel so much better. No hip pain,” he said. “There is still some stiffness, but this is a new start line for me.”
The road back: A cautious revival
Kelly’s rehabilitation is expected to be lengthy. A minimum of six months is required before he can begin running again, and he hopes to start that phase around June. Even then, he may choose to sit out the entire 2026 season as a precaution. His stated target is a return for round one of the 2027 season. “The (safe) plan is round one next year,” he said.
The decision to go under the knife comes after more than a decade of service to the Giants. Kelly made his AFL debut in 2014 and immediately impressed, winning the club’s Rising Star Award. He developed into a consistent ball-winner and leader, averaging 24.3 disposals, 3.6 tackles and 3.1 clearances per game in 2024 while shifting between midfield and the wing. He has been part of the GWS leadership group since 2018, serving as vice-captain in recent years.
His individual accolades include an All-Australian selection in 2017, two Kevin Sheedy Medals as GWS Club Champion (2017 and 2021) and a place in the AFLPA 22under22 team in 2017. Kelly also demonstrated significant loyalty to the club: in 2019 he signed a deal with an option for an eight-year extension, which he triggered in 2021, committing him to the Giants through at least the end of 2029. That decision meant turning down a reported nine-year, $10 million offer from North Melbourne in 2017.
Despite his personal success, a premiership has remained out of reach. Kelly was part of the Giants side that reached their first Grand Final in 2019, only to be thrashed by Richmond by 89 points. There have also been three preliminary final defeats — including a one-point loss to Collingwood in 2023 — and a straight-sets exit in the 2024 finals series, when GWS squandered a 28-point lead in the qualifying final against Sydney and a 44-point lead in the semi-final against Brisbane. That September heartbreak, combined with the physical toll of his injury, could have ended his career. Instead, Kelly is banking on an operation that no AFL player has tried before.
The son of former North Melbourne player Phil Kelly, who won two Sandover Medals in the WAFL, Josh Kelly now faces a long rehabilitation with no guarantee he can rediscover his peak. But for the first time in years, he is free of the hip pain that once made him wonder if the game had passed him by.
