MARTYN Thomas today relives the horror injury he suffered playing for Newport Gwent Dragons against Cardiff Blues last Friday.
He broke his leg above the ankle in three places and tore medial ligaments which, in turn, dislocated the ankle.
The injury was so bad that teammate and scrum half Wayne Evans, who witnessed it from close range, turned away in tears.
“It wasn’t a very pleasant sight with my ankle at right angles,” he said. “I knew I’d hurt myself badly straightaway and the ankle wasn’t in a nice position, I grabbed Wayne and called out to him ‘What have I done?’ “I was just going across the field, my leg was a bit behind me and a player fell on my leg, there was nothing I could do about it.
“But the Dragons surgeon was able to put the ankle back in place and I was operated on straightaway in the Royal Gwent so a big thank you to the consultants there.
“But unfortunately it was my 23rd birthday the next day so I spent it in hospital! I was in there for three nights and I had a lot of visitors as well as phone calls from family and friends.”
Thomas now faces the long haul back to full fitness and won’t play again for five months which means he will miss the first month of next season.
But he takes heart from players who have come back from similar injuries like Danny Cipriani while Dragons teammate Dan Lydiate returned after breaking his neck and played for Wales.
“It’s very disappointing, but at the end of the day what will be will be,” he said. “Others have come back from similar injuries, I’ve just got to take my time. I’ll be in plaster for six weeks, then wear a special boot for another six weeks supporting the ankle, then I’ll start mobilising it a bit to get the movement back before walking on it again, then jogging.”
Thomas, who previously spent over three months on the sidelines for a shoulder reconstruction, intends moving from his Cardiff Bay home back to his parents’ house in Llandeilo.
Then he starts to focus on his return after a season when he made great strides and was even on Wales coach Warren Gatland’s radar.
“I started the season as second choice full back behind Jason Tovey, but his move to 10 allowed me to move to 15 and I’ve been happy with the way I’ve been playing,” he said.
“I’ve got every confidence in the way we’ve been playing, we’ve been playing some good stuff. It’s always nice to get a few wins under our belt though we’ve got to look to improve our away form if we are really going to compete.
“As has been said often the fans have been our 16th man, and I’ve really enjoyed it. Now I’ve got to turn the negatives into positives, get into the weights and hopefully bounce back stronger again.”
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