Tom Davies was ready to bounce back for the business end of the season after recovering from a knee injury that has left him feeling like “a spare part for a car on a shelf in the garage”.
The 25-year-old Catalans Dragons winger has missed the last five weeks after damaging his meniscus and medial ligaments, but he was ready for action again against Wakefield Trinity on Sunday after a rapid recovery inspired by a couple of setbacks.
First, he was dropped from the England squad for the recent All Stars clash and then his club signed another top-flight winger in Tom Johnstone.
“It’s been a tricky few weeks,” Davies told League Express, “but that’s Rugby League for you!”
The 25-year-old former Wigan star is keeping his chin up after a series of knock-backs which began with a telephone call from England coach Shaun Wane.
Davies said, “I was gutted not to be part of the England team against the All Stars, I spoke to Waney and he gave his reasons and I fully understood.
“There are things I need to work on in my game and if you’re going to play for England you have to prove that you’re the best in the country.
“With this injury it’s not ideal, especially with a World Cup coming up. But I can’t worry about any of that.
“My job is to do the best for me, my team-mates, Steve McNamara and the Dragons and anything else is out of my control.
“If that means I get back into the England squad for the World Cup then that’s brilliant, but it’s not something I should focus on now.”
His disappointment was made worse the following week when he picked up a knee injury during the Dragons’ golden-point defeat to Castleford.
“I had a knee brace for the first four weeks and I needed to rest and repair all the tendons and tissues.
“It’s hard when you’re injured, every player will tell you, you feel like a spare part for a car on the shelf in the garage.
“It could have been a lot worse and I’m very grateful that it wasn’t, but it’s a killer when you miss out on big games like St Helens and Magic Weekend.
“I love my job; it’s pretty much play-time for me whenever I’m involved, but when I’m watching the lads train or play and I’ve got my leg up in a brace, that’s when it really hits home.”
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