Masoe: Walking again is like winning Grand Final

FOR Mose Masoe, taking five small steps provided the same elation as winning a Super League title at Old Trafford.

The Hull KR prop suffered a careerending injury during a pre-season match at Wakefield in January and was told he may never walk again.

Masoe damaged two vertebrae in his spine while making a tackle in an innocuous-looking incident that had devastating consequences. But after two months of rehab at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield, Masoe last week posted a video of himself walking unaided for the first time in his kitchen.

Watched by daughters Marlowe, four, and Evie-Rose, six, the Samoan international ticked off the latest landmark on his remarkable road to recovery. “It’s weird - it was like winning a Grand Final, the same kind of feeling,” said Masoe, who was part of St Helens’ 2014 title-winning side.

“It was something that sounded impossible 16 weeks ago. I’m stoked to be up and walking and grateful for whatever I get back now, everything is a massive bonus.”

Every step of his rehabilitation has been cheered by a rugby league community galvanised by his attitude towards adversity. The pandemic has denied him regular BIG STEPS: Masoe’s 2014 joy and, right, his new triumph physiotherapy, but he said: “I’ve been using everyday things around the house as my physio.

“When the Rugby League Benevolent Fund came to put a stairlift into our house they asked if I wanted one to the top floor and I said no.

“I got up on my bottom and that was using my triceps, then I could crawl up, and this week I walked up for the first time with my crutches.”

And with his wife, Carissa, expecting a son in mid-July, Masoe has another reason to continue his inspirational journey.

He added: “She’s been a massive support and we’re a lot more grateful for what we have – she’s just as positive as I am about everything.”