Toulouse Olympique centre Guy Armitage played on in the recent French derby not knowing that one more blow to his neck could have been the end of his career – and maybe the end of everything.
Armitage received a broken larynx early in the match against Catalans Dragons unaware that any further contact to the throat could have closed his windpipe with potentially fatal consequences.
The 31-year-old former London Broncos’ centre told League Express: “I actually got hit twice, I got a shoulder to the throat from Dylan Napa and then ten minutes later there was that collision with Sam Kasiano and his elbow hit me in the throat. They got me good.
“It happened 15 minutes in and I was trying to see if it was going to stop me breathing. I had a little panic when I ran back to defend. It felt bruised and swollen but I didn’t know how serious it was.
“I didn’t know you could break your throat, or I would have run straight off the pitch.”
Armitage, the brother of rugby union internationals Delon and Steffon, said it was the “weirdest” injury he had ever sustained but also the most dangerous.
He added, “You’ve got a ring of cartilage in your throat and there was a clear break in it. Thankfully I don’t need an operation; I just have to rest and not sustain any further contact for a couple of months.
“It’s a weird injury and one you can’t mess with; if I get hit again before it heals it could close my windpipe.
“Even after the game, I didn’t know how serious it was. I was hoping to play again on Monday so I was devastated when I found out what had happened.
“It’s a weird injury because I can still run, do weights and train but I cannot have any contact to the throat.
“The worst-case scenario doesn’t bear thinking about, so it’s not something I’m going to mess with.
“The good news is that I won’t lose any fitness or need to rebuild myself physically; it’s just a waiting game.”
The waiting game is at least seven weeks for Armitage, who had been in impressive try-scoring form for the Olympians so far this season.
Another defeat (at Leeds Rhinos) on Friday is increasing the pressure on the playing squad but Armitage believes the tide will turn soon for Toulouse.
He added, “It’s going to be frustrating watching my team-mates while I feel fully fit.
“We’re desperate to get those league points and we’re so close, so not to be able to help is the worst part.
“Luckily, we’ve got the players who can fill in and I’ll be as positive as I can at training to try to help the boys out.
“There is so much frustration in the squad because we know we are so close and we’re just trying to find that missing piece.
“Sometimes we might be trying too hard and it’s backfiring because we’re getting on the wrong side of results.
“We beat Saints, so we know we can do it, the frustrating thing is why we haven’t been able to do it again.
“We need to stay calm, which is a lot easier said than done.
“We always struggle when we have a lack of ball; it sounds obvious but when we get the ball, we tend to score points.
“Our discipline and those silly errors that are killing us. They seem like easy fixes and that’s why the coaches and players are so frustrated.
“It plays on you mentally and we’re going through a difficult time.
“There’s still a huge chunk of the season to play for when I return, with enough time to turn this around, so I’m not too worried about the games I’m going to miss, it’s up to me now to make sure I’m ready for when I’m back.
“We believe we can stay in Super League; we know we are good enough, and if we can get off the bottom of the table that will be massive for us.
“We need to start finishing our performances and the results will come.”
The recruitment of former St George-Illawarra half-back Corey Norman to the Toulouse squad should help boost the bottom club’s prospects.
The 31-year-old former State Of Origin player had retired from the NRL last year but he has been persuaded to join Toulouse until at least the end of this year’s Super League season.
Norman will arrive in France later this week.
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