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I WAS watching the cricket on Friday afternoon when Shaun Marsh got back spasms. I thought "poor bloke, about to play for his country and having to pull out during the warm-up".
Then it happened to me!
I was in a great shape, physically and mentally, having come through a tough pre-season and trial phase.
I was really looking forward to playing and then, without any warning or any indication whatsoever, I was ruled out of the game.
It was just a freakish thing. As a professional athlete, the lead-up to a match is intense and to make it all the way to the warm-up and then cop an injury is really tough. After a run of injuries over the past few years I was confident about making a fresh start and then bang!
The kickers and throwers usually go out before everyone else and I went through the same routine as always. Just as I came through for my last warm-up kick I felt this horrible pain down my hip and into my quad.
I kind of walked it off and it didn't feel too bad, but after consulting with the medical staff at the last minute we decided that I wouldn't play.
Most people know that I broke my leg and dislocated my ankle playing for the Wallabies against France in 2008.
It's been such a long recovery to get back to this point and I wanted to repay the faith everyone at the Emirates Western Force had put in me.
I finally felt like I was getting back to my old self. It's the strongest I've been in the gym; the match fitness was coming back and everything felt great.
I was part of the team and ready to go - right up until the final minute unfortunately.
I'll admit that the initial reaction wasn't great. I couldn't sleep that night, up until 4am just thinking what went wrong.
Of course, I'm not the only one to go through the tough periods of injuries. It's part of sport, a hard part, but one that all of us have to deal with at certain times.
Wins in front of our sea of blue gives you a rush that you can't really describe. Then there's the flip-side of having to watch helplessly from the sidelines.
None of us like to be sitting there unable to help out our teammates.
I can't speak highly enough of Haig Sare, who came in as my replacement at the last minute. He'd only just recovered from a pretty serious achilles injury and was going to be eased back in from the bench. He ended up playing the whole game and, under the circumstances, did exceptionally well.
An injury stops you doing what you love, but that serves as motivation to do the rehab and get back as soon as possible.
Lying on the couch isn't all that it's cracked up to be - I can guarantee that. Neither is having someone help you shower because you can't put weight on your leg, as I had to do after that injury a few years ago.
We've been really unlucky to have the strange injuries happening to the Emirates Western Force over a very short period.
There's a really tight bond in our squad and while I know I didn't have any control over what happened, it still feels like I let the boys down.
For me it's about staying mentally focused and working hard. The harder I work, the quicker I'll recover.
http://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/let...-1225830068893
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Originally Posted by Burgs
