McLean won’t rush back after leg break

Matt McLean says he will not rush back from his horror leg break despite an outside chance he may play again for Worthing Raiders Rugby Club this season.

Full-back McLean suffered a broken fibula and dislocated ankle last Saturday, making a tackle in Raiders’ victory over league leaders Henley Hawks.

He was released from hospital last Monday and will be in plaster for six weeks, and has been told there is a slight possibility he may be fit again to play this season.

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McLean, who was Raiders’ top points scorer last season, has insisted, however, he will not be rushing anything. He said: “It’s probably the worst point in my rugby career. The injury is quite an uncomfortable one now, with the swelling and trauma of the area it’s giving a bit of pain and I’ll have a cast on for six weeks, but I’ll take things day by day.

“I know it’s an old saying but it all happened so fast, but as soon as I was on the way down I knew I had broken my leg, or some sort of injury.

“It wasn’t an underhand tackle but one I normally make week in, week out. I gave him about 30 kilos of weight and the pitch being so soft didn’t help and my ankle may have turned when I planted my foot.”

Raiders’ head coach Kieron Dawson was furious with the referee who did not stop the game in the build-up to McLean’s injury as the play headed towards Kiba Richards receiving treatment on the pitch.

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McLean continued: “I was off balance and the force of the collision put all my weight on my standing leg. Our physio was on the pitch treating another injury on Kiba Richards.

“Maybe it caused me to not to plant properly and the force caused my leg to twist and bend.

“But these things happen when you play a sport like this. I have been quite lucky up to now and not had a serious injury such as this. I had keyhole surgery a couple of times which was uncomfortable, a broken thumb and cracked ribs, as you do, so, this is definitely the worst.”

McLean has been told he could be fit again by April, meaning he could make the final couple of games of this season and as much as he would like to give Raiders a boost in their promotion chase, he will not be racing to be fit at a risk of further damage. He said: “I’ll remain positive and look to get back into playing again this season if I can, but I’m not prepared to rush it, so if I am not right again I won’t play.

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“I always want to play as many games as I can. Up until a recent illness, I had played 40 games on the bounce.

“It was never a case of being worried about not playing again as I’d be determined to do whatever I had to do.”

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