MARTYN Thomas insists he never despaired despite being laid low for nine months, victim of a horror injury which left him in hospital with a leg shattered, broken in five places, his ankle dislocated and ligaments ruptured.

The incident which left the Newport Gwent Dragons full back lying in agony on the Rodney Parade pitch last April was so bad that teammate Wayne Evans, the first to arrive at the scene, was left in tears when he surveyed it.

But far from being downhearted and wondering whether he would play again, Thomas says his thoughts were always centred on when he would get back.

He even took the opportunity during his recuperation to have a hip operation as well to clear up another injury which had been troubling him!

“Recalling the day he went down in a heap he said: “I got caught in a tackle and my leg was trapped, no-one was to blame, it was just unfortunate.”

But he did confess: “Mentally and physically it’s been very tough with a lot of frustration. I had enjoyed a good run towards the end of last season and was feeling confident, but there was nothing I could do about what happened.

“I never thought I was finished, though, as soon as I did it the mode was ‘when can I get back?’ The surgeon was very positive, which helped, and the Dragons conditioning coaches and physios worked very hard with me.

“It’s been a massive process, very hard with often one step forward then one back but I always thought I would get back.

“It was frustrating in that I’d have two good weeks followed by a bad one and I felt every little achievement had been thrown out of the window again.

“But gradually things improved and there was a window for me to have a hip operation as well. I was able to start running again at the start of December, though I’d been doing a lot of physio work.

“Because of the Heineken Cup and not being registered for it, then the bad weather it wasn’t an option to play, but I wanted to get back into the environment and get my hands on the ball again.”

He finally got a taste of competitive action again for Pontypool last week with a 20-minute cameo and he’s now set to resume his career for the Dragons at Sale tomorrow night.

“It’s going to be a massive task, but I’m confident I’m ready, the leg feels great and it’s all down to performance now. It’s a matter of getting game time and stringing a number together,” he said.

“It’s been a frustrating nine months, but hopefully I can kick on from now and have a good end of season.”

Thomas has also had to watch from the sidelines as the Dragons have struggled, out of Europe and this time without one win to show for their efforts.

“The Heineken Cup has been disappointing, we’ve struggled trying to get consistency and there have been a lot of errors in our game, it’s about getting some cohesion,” he said.

“The Sale game will be important for both parties, it’s a challenge for us but I have every confidence we can get the victory.

“Any Premiership side is quality and Sale will be tough, they will have done their video analysis on us. But we’ve got every incentive, it’s in our mindset to go up there and get a victory.”

It’s been a thin time for the Dragons, but Thomas’ bravely optimistic nature could just rub off on the rest of the team.