The surfing community and injuries have had a love-hate relationship since forever. But that doesn’t mean accidents don’t make hearts heave anymore. Instead, seasoned surfers like Kelly Slater know misfortune can strike at any time, and that’s why, being cautious always helps. But even then, sometimes the scare can be worse than actually the magnitude of the injury, and the 11x WSL champ couldn’t be happier about it.

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On Wednesday, former world champion surfer Tom Carroll faced a shocking accident, slamming his head against his board while surfing at North Narrabeen Beach in Australia. Given Carroll’s legendary status within the surfing community, fans were understandably distressed upon hearing the news. However, as positive updates about his recovery began to surface, fellow surf icon Kelly Slater joined others in expressing his relief and joy.

Kelly Slater is finally able to breathe normally again

A couple of days ago, the goofy foot legend shared an update about his condition. “I just got a few stitches on the head,” Carroll can be heard saying with a shy grin in the video posted by Surfline Australia on Instagram. He also noted that a sore neck and some spinal discomfort are present, “but they were cleared,” mentions the world’s first-ever millionaire surfer.

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I think it was having sunscreen on my hands, to be honest. I slipped off the rail and fell on the board. It all happened so quick, but I do remember everything – the crunch, and the feeling, and the loud sound within my head, and the fact this sort of shocked me,” Tom had previously stated about what went down in his home country earlier this week. He also wasn’t beating around the bush about the whole ordeal to confess how it was “embarrassing“.

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For obvious reasons, the surfing community has breathed a collective sigh of relief after learning that Carroll is already on his way to recovery. Among them, Kelly Slater looked particularly happy to know that his predecessor wasn’t in any grave threat. “Love ya, Tom!” Slater was quick to head to the comment section and express his gladness over the incident. Soon, the encouraging fans followed suit in throngs.

The surfing world revels in the good news

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Diptarko Paul

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Diptarko Paul is a Senior Writer at EssentiallySports, specializing in standout performances in Olympic sports. A State Championship swimming qualifier, he brings eight years of editorial experience shaped by a deep understanding of both traditional and emerging sports. His career includes shaping editorial narratives at Yahoo India and leading content strategy at Coinbase. He has covered American sports and the esports ecosystem extensively. At EssentiallySports, Diptarko was a key member of the Paris Olympics trends desk, where he tracked emerging storylines and helped shape coverage strategy. Diptarko is a graduate of EssentiallySports’ prestigious Journalistic Excellence Program, receiving mentorship from industry veterans to refine his reporting and storytelling skills.

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Suman Varandani