LIAM Conroy is plotting his return to the ring after finally having surgery on a medical issue which has sidelined him since his second-round stoppage of Miles Shinkwin at the end of March.

The English light-heavyweight title holder underwent surgery two weeks ago on a hernia, having been plagued by pain during his training camps for some time.

Conroy is relieved the problem has been finally diagnosed and treated, and the 26-year-old from Barrow is optimistic he will not have to worry about it again.

“The problem took a while to diagnose,” Conroy told the MTK-Global website. “Before then, it was just getting worse and worse and I was going to the doctors to try and find out why I was in pain.

“The medical term for it is an ‘inguinal disruption.’ I was getting through camps with it with discomfort but as time went on it was affecting me more and more when I was running, doing sit-ups or punching.

“I still sparred with it but there was loads of pain the days afterwards. Even when I was waiting for the surgery once it had been diagnosed, I chose to spar people like Martin Murray, Rocky Fielding and Steven Ward because the learning was worth the sacrifice of the pain.

“My trainer Johnney Roye told me to go and see a specialist and it was a massive relief when I was properly diagnosed and told that surgery could eradicate the symptoms for good.”

Conroy made no secret of the fact it has been tough watching some of his domestic rivals move ahead of him in contesting for European and inter-continental honours with the worldwide sanctioning bodies during his absence.

However, the Barrow ABC product is taking his time over his recovery and is determined to remind everyone what he is capable of when he eventually returns, with the aim to challenge for the Lonsdale belt and eventually making a name for himself beyond these shores.

“I’m not going to lie – it’s hard lying there watching the likes of Joshua Buatsi and Anthony Yarde get these big fights that I would like to be going for,” said Conroy. “I’ve been worried that the longer I’m inactive, the less I’ll be considered for the big occasions.

“I know I’m on the right road, though. Being injured has given me a chance to sit back and think about what I really want from life and it’s reinforced to me how much I want to succeed at boxing; at British level and beyond.

“Boxing keeps moving and there are names constantly emerging while I’m sat here unable to play a part but that only makes me more determined to remind them what I have to offer once I’m fit again.”