It has been almost a year since Anthony Ogogo last entered the ring, a fight that took place in Birmingham between himself and Craig Cunningham.

Ogogo, a fighter who has battled with injuries his whole career, was by far the favourite.

Yet, underdog Cunningham delivered Ogogo's first professional defeat, with his team pulling him out of the fight in the eighth round with concerns about his eye sight.

The concerns turned out to be right.

Ogogo recalls taking a hit in the first round, and admitted his eye "basically exploded" after post-match scans revealed the true damage.

In fact, he even had his driving license taken off him and technically was registered blind.

Ogogo told Mirror Sport: "It's been horrendous — it's like groundhog day. I've spent the last five years telling people how rubbish things are and how unlucky I've been with injuries.

"But this has been by the far the worst year of my life in that respect. It really has been horrible.

"I just want to box so much and show the world how good I can be. I've never been able to do that because of injuries — that's the hardest thing.

"In round one against Cunningham we clashed, probably a forearm hit me, and it turns out my eye basically exploded.

"I had a scan after the fight and it showed multiple fractures. My eye was twisted and contorted.

"Every time I was getting a whack, the eye wasn't protected and the vision was horrendous."

Even for a man who is no stranger to an injury or two, this incident has really taken its tole.

He revealed how difficult this year has been and how frustrating it is to have such a prolonged period out of the ring.

Ever since turning pro, he has had a similar mantra, insisting that injuries are the only thing that have stood in his way. All Ogogo wants to do is prove his worth in the ring and really show what he is capable of.

The Olympic bronze medalist hopes that this trip to the US will help him do exactly that. With successful surgery, the fighter envisages himself fighting again by January. Who he would fight has not been decided, although a rematch with Cunningham is most definitely at the forefront of his mind.

He encouraged his fans as he told the world how he is still hitting the gym and getting himself in the right physical condition to fight again.

The Sussex born middleweight has already closed the door on punditry just yet, as he insists he has more to give and wants to prove that. In interviews he has recognised his age, but insists that the time he has spent on the sidelines has kept him "fresh".

"My eye is still not quite right, so I decided to go over to America for treatment.

"I'm relatively confident an op in America will do the job and get me back.

"Going to America to get this fixed shows how much my career means to me. That's how much I want to become a world champion.

"The plan is to have surgery this month and fingers crossed that will be it.

"Hopefully I'll be able to box again towards the end of the year or January. Then I can finally, finally show the world just how good I can be."

Everyone will be hoping that the surgery is successful and Ogogo can return as soon as possible.

His next fight will be highly anticipated no matter when it is, however, it will remain to be seen whether he will return to the level he was at prior to injury.

All that can be said is, if the surgery is successful, Anthony Ogogo is far from done.