George Groves on the long, painful and expensive road back to the ring to face the undefeated Callum Smith

Groves has forked out £50,000 of his own money to extend his career, at least until his 28 September clash with Callum Smith in the World Boxing Super Series final

George Groves will fight Callum Smith (Bongarts/Getty Images)

George Groves had just beaten Chris Eubank Jr in February’s modern British grudge match but he felt like his career was over.

“I was in the ambulance with my wife, and I remember saying to her ‘I suppose it’s not a bad one to go out on’,” Groves says. “I’m in agony at that point, my shoulder’s hanging out. I thought if this is a two-year comeback, at my age do I really want to do that? Maybe not.

“But later on that night they pop it back in, and they said ‘You’ll be alright’, and it was just back to it.”

Groves had intelligently outboxed Eubank behind his famous jab until the 12th round when the shoulder which helps administer the trademark weapon deserted him. The dislocation was so bad that it almost allowed his opponent to secure an unlikely late stoppage.

George Groves celebrates his victory over Chris Eubank Jr (Getty)

But the WBA super-middleweight champion managed to hold on, hear the final bell and then all three judges return a verdict in his favour. Even so, Groves thought his decade-long career might be at an end.

“From the explanation we got, it’s the ball and socket which has basically gone,” explains Groves, making a fist with his right hand and and driving it into the palm of his left. It disappeared under the pressure. When the shoulder pops out, the muscles go into spasm and crush the bone, so there’s a big divot missing from there.

“Instead of adding bone to the divot they extend the shoulder, taking bone from one side of the pec-side of the shoulder and taking tendons with it. The tendon and extra bone and two screws secure it in place.

“We saw one of the leading surgeons in the country from the best clinic in the country. They’re very happy with the option of the surgery we chose. The major damage is that it’s rock solid; you’ve got to try and get mobility back in there.”

George Groves became a world champion at his fourth attempt (Getty)

It has been a long, painful and expensive road back for Groves, who has forked out £50,000 of his own money to extend his career, at least until his 28 September clash with Callum Smith in the World Boxing Super Series final.

Initially it had been suggested that it was Groves’ injury which forced the showdown into the autumn but the Londoner says there were other factors at play. Regardless, the hold-up has allowed his shoulder vital time to recover before facing the undefeated Smith, with Jeddah emerging as the surprising host.

Groves adds: “Obviously it took [the organisers] so much time because they were deciding whether to do it in the UK or Saudi Arabia. It worked out that there are more incentives to have it abroad, and they’ve had to find a date in the calendar that doesn’t clash with other big fights.

“It’s a date we can now work towards, put that stress behind us, and we’re good to go. The shoulder’s doing well, responding well. It’s really hard to make a proper plan without a proper date; now we’ve got a proper date we can make a proper plan, so we’ve stepped the rehab up, and it’s good we know exactly what we’re working to.

George Groves defeating Martin Murray (Getty)

It’s a big injury. I’ve had injuries before but you go for surgery and they almost correct themselves, whereas this, you’ve got to learn to walk again. It’s coming back. I’m back sparring now, proper sparring,

“All in all, with the surgery and rehab, I reckon it has cost me over 50 grand. When you’re a boxer it’s all on you. This is how it is. Fortunately I’ve got enough money to invest in my shoulder, and the expertise to get there – now it’s bulletproof.

“In terms of the amount of recovery time I could have between the semi final and the final, it’s a case of the longer the better. But we’ve been in the gym training so it will feel like a long camp by the end of it.”

When Groves originally signed up for the World Boxing Super Series last year, he had suggested during an interview with The Independent that winning the eight-man tournament may be the perfect excuse for him to retire.

Despite being only 30 years old and with 31 professional fights to date, the self-styled ‘Saint’ feels like one of the elder statesmen still currently active in British boxing.

It is now four years since he was emphatically halted by Carl Froch at Wembley Stadium and seven since he beat arch-rival James DeGale on pay-per-view. But a new arrival to the Groves household, second son Albie, has reinvigorated his desire to box on, even though his profession has left the parental burden on wife and childhood sweetheart Sophie.

“He was due end of July but came a bit early,” Groves says after polishing off his lunch at a pub just round the corner from the Battersea gym in which he trains. “He’s sweet, he’s the least stressful thing going in my life at the moment – all he does is sleep. The feeding, I’m not part of.

“My wife’s fantastic, this is probably the hardest part for her and I feel for her. But she understands that I have to be selfish at times. When she has had no sleep, she has to get up to feed our two year old and leaves me in bed, I feel guilty. But I manage to sleep through that guilt.

“My first son, Ted, was at the hotel for the Fedor Chudinov fight when I won the world title. He came about a week after I fought Martin Murray [in June 2016] so this time we were hoping to get Smith out the way and then have the baby. That’s why I was pushing for the early July date but it wasn’t meant to be.

“That’s a new addition to the family and another incentive to win and another incentive to box on, so let’s see. But once I win this tournament, especially now the Ring Magazine belt is on the line against Smith, I will be struggling for things to tick off the bucket list.

“I’m sure I’ll find a couple more but I’m pretty much there.”