RUGBY LEAGUE players go through the pain barrier every time they step on the training or match field.
Niggles, injuries and complaints are rife for any player throughout the year but sometimes there is more to a problem than first meets the eye.
For Huddersfield Giants veteran Chris Hill, he not only ruptured a pectoral muscle during the final game of England’s three-match Test Series against Tonga, he also suffered a badly dislocated finger.
That, initially, looked to rule Hill out for the start of the 2024 Super League season, but the 36-year-old has the ambition to run out for the Giants in round one as he explains the gruesome finger injury.
“I had double surgery so it has been a slow start for me,” Hill told League Express.
“I had my pec reattached and had the tendon in my finger reattached. I’m on track so hopefully I will be fit and raring to go for the start of the season.
“Round one is my aim, depends who you speak to! The physios will probably say longer but in my head I’ve got round one, its usually thee to four months with a pec but I’m well ahead and cracking on.
“My finger kept dislocating in the second game for England. Then I played week three for England and it wouldn’t go back in.
“The tendon has snapped, I’m going to the specialist again. They have already reattached my tendon and ligaments, it’s just a matter of time letting the tendon heal and getting it mended again. A finger is a finger!”
Hill’s head coach, Ian Watson, had previously said that a recharge was ‘much-needed’ for the veteran after such a gruelling year.
“Chris is a big player for us, so it’s a blow,” Watson said.
“He’s a naturally quick healer, but it’s quite a big injury, and while we aren’t ruling out the start of the season, we have to also consider him still being out at that stage.
“We’re trying to look at a positive, and being sidelined will give him a bit of a breather, which is perhaps a blessing in disguise.
“Chris admitted he struggled to back up from the (2022) World Cup last season, and had a bit of burn-out, so a decent rest could benefit him when he does return.”
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