RUGBY LEAGUE players are well-known for their toughness on the field.
They will run through brick walls for their peers next to them and often do so with knocks and bruises of their own.
For former Wigan Warriors star John Bateman, the weekend was particularly painful with the now Wests Tigers forward suffering a rib cartilage injury in the 24-12 loss to Melbourne Storm.
Known for his NRL Physio profile on Twitter, Brian Seeney explained why Bateman’s injury is one of the “most painful” that a rugby league player can suffer him.
“John Bateman has been cleared of rib fractures & been named to play in Round 5,” Seeney wrote.
“Worth noting rib cartilage injury is one of the most painful in footy, cause pain with “every breath you take, every move you make”. Often play through with pain killers/chest guard but discomfort.”
John Bateman has been cleared of rib fractures & been named to play in Round 5. Worth noting rib cartilage injury is one of the most painful in footy, cause pain with “every breath you take, every move you make”. Often play through with pain killers/chest guard but discomfort +++ pic.twitter.com/shKkkVB0UJ
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) March 28, 2023
Despite the injury and the obvious pain stemming from the issue, Bateman has been cleared to play against the Brisbane Broncos this weekend.