Baldwin feared amputation after lion’s bite

WALES hooker Scott Baldwin revealed he could have had a hand amputated because of infection after being bitten by a lion – and a surgeon said his survival was like winning a lottery.

Baldwin, right, suffered a serious infection after being bitten while stroking the lion while on tour in South Africa last month.

“The infection was the major issue,” said Baldwin. “The next day it started tracking up my arm. The surgeon said there was a chance I could lose my hand. The bite went straight through the other side of the hand – but I was really lucky it didn’t hit any tendons or ligaments.

“The surgeon said it was like winning the lottery, he said it was the best possible outcome considering I had been bitten by a lion.

“When I got home I was transferred to a hospital in Swansea to see a plastic surgeon and he cleaned it out again. Because they had packed it with all stuff to stop the infection, my skin was so loose he didn’t have to take a skin graft, so I was really fortunate.” Explaining why he thought the lion bit him while he patted it on the head, Baldwin said: “It was the fact I stroked the female first, I don’t think the male liked it too much. “I turned away to give one of the boys my phone to take a picture and the lion thought, ‘He’s not looking now, I’ll have a bite’.” Baldwin could return for Saturday’s Ospreys match against Saracens. He said: “I’ve had the stitches out and hopefully will be back in training some time in the coming week. That’s my thought process, I don’t know about the coaches and medical teams, but that’s what I’ve got in my head.”

Ospreys coach Steve Tandy said the player has been “pretty stupid” and Baldwin added: “Steve Tandy has said we just need to get past it now. It is what it is, we just need to move on.”