Sheldon gets back on track
Injury-plagued Pride forward almost set
It is the last place anyone wants their body to let them down, let alone when you spend half your time charging into semi-professional athletes out to hurt you at every opportunity. But after the best part of six months’ concern over a spinal scare, Northern Pride forward Sheldon Powe-Hobbs (above) is now looking on the bright side. Late in 2017, the 26-year-old consistently began coming out of tackles feeling pins and needles in his arms and fingers.
IT is the last place anyone wants their body to let them down, let alone when you spend half your time charging into semi-professional athletes out to hurt you at every opportunity.
But after the best part of six months’ concern over a neck injury, Northern Pride forward Sheldon Powe-Hobbs is now looking on the bright side.
Late in 2017, the 26-yearold consistently began coming out of tackles feeling pins and needles in his arms and fingers.
The initial blow was clearly more serious than you average “burner” as Powe-Hobbs was forced to manage the injury and rest up on the sidelines.
The problem was, after getting back on the park in a bid to force his way into Scotland’s World Cup squad and indeed starring for the Pride, the same issue kept rearing its ugly head.
It was hoped a bit of rest in the preseason might calm it down, but after an unsuccessful attempt to return to the gym pain-free, let alone contact, the full scale of the inflammation centred on his C6 vertebrae was finally revealed.
Doctors had struggled to pinpoint the area until this week, when Powe-Hobbs turned up to training “the best I’ve felt in months” after a successful cortisone injection on Monday.
“Basically the joints have worn down in my neck and where the nerve comes out, there’s a bit of pressure being put on it and I’ve been losing feeling in my arms and fingers,” he said.
“I’ve had five cortisone injections since the beginning of the preseason trying to reduce the inflammation.
“This was the last-ditch attempt before something more drastic and fingers crossed this is it.
“It was pretty scary going into contact and making tackles and losing feeling in my arm. I couldn’t move it.
“When you’re dealing with your neck and back it is pretty scary. You can’t push those things or you might end up hurting something permanently.
“I have trust in the medical staff and it looks like finally we might have a bit of positive news.”
Pride coach Ty Williams said the club would err on the side of caution with PoweHobbs’ return with a view to safeguarding life outside football, where he runs a carpentry business.
The former Babinda junior said he hoped to get the allclear soon to help his side put some results on the board.
“Watching Round 1 from the sideline was killer. You spend months of the preseason getting flogged and all you want to do is get out there,” Powe-Hobbs said.
“I was pretty proud of the boys and how they went, but obviously I want to be out there and that’s my aim, to get fit and get back on the field with them.
“Hopefully I’m back into contact next week and full training and hopefully stake a claim and earn my spot back.”
I’VE BEEN LOSING FEELING IN MY ARMS AND FINGERS. I’VE HAD FIVE CORTISONE INJECTIONS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE PRESEASON TRYING TO REDUCE THE INFLAMMATION
SHELDON POWE-HOBBS