Falcons can go all the way, says injury-hit Penny
TOM Penny believes his injury woes are behind him as he looks to help Newcastle Falcons win the European Challenge Cup.
The 23-year-old has revealed the squad at Kingston Park are confident they can “go all the way” and win in Bilbao.
But he is also still looking to get his career back on track after a nightmare double injury blow.
After suffering a broken arm in the summer of 2016, Penny then sustained a serious knee ligament injury in his comeback game against Bath.
Now, with the worst of it behind him, he wants to help push the Falcons to another level.
And while the club secured a home European Challenge Cup quarter final with Sunday’s 64-7 victory over Enisei-STM, he revealed the Falcons are already looking well beyond that.
“I think as a squad we’re all pretty confident that we could go all the way,” he said of the club’s European ambitions.
“The performances we’ve been putting in, not just in the European games but in the Anglo-Welsh (Cup) and the Premiership, we’ve won seven games on the bounce now.
“If we keep going in with the same mentality and keep performing the way we are, anything could be possible.”
Penny has featured prominently in this season’s European campaign, turning in a man-of-thematch performance against the Russians on Sunday, in which he scored a try within 44 seconds.
The versatile back has played so few first-team games since 2016, they could be counted on one hand.
Now Penny is just happy to be playing again and admits that when one serious injury followed another, he feared the worst.
“After I got back from breaking my arm and then done my knee straight away, it wasn’t a great place to be,” he said.
“You know you’re out for nine months to a year but there are a good backroom staff and great physios here. The rehab was really good and they kept you positive and looking ahead and back in good shape to come back fighting fit.”
“Injuries, they happen but I’m just praying they are behind me for now.”