Stephen Crichton has praised Canterbury medicos for making hit-and-run trips to his home that allowed him to make a miraculous return from an AC joint injury in time to face Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
The Bulldogs skipper will end up missing just three weeks after initially facing up to double that amount of time on the sidelines.
Scans revealed the shoulder injury that forced Crichton from the field during Canterburyโs loss to South Sydney on Good Friday was rated a grade five โ the most serious grading for such a complaint.
But after around-the-clock treatment, Crichton came close to playing last week against Parramatta when named on the extended bench. It was eventually decided another week of rest would be of greater benefit heading into a match against a Broncos side with injury concerns of their own.
โI was pretty close last week, I would have needed a needle to play, and with the short turnaround [to the Broncos game], it would have made it pretty painful [to back up],โ Crichton told this masthead.
โI had the physios working 24/7, and a few of them even came out of my house to treat me on my days off, just to help speed up the recovery.
โThey were smashing out the muscles around it, and trying to manage the inflammation. They were out at my house twice last week. Then there was the normal treatment at training.
โThe needle will take the pain away each week. I know Iโll feel it once the painkillers wear off.โ
Crichton conceded there was a good chance he would require a needle each week to get through the remainder of the season.
It is not uncommon for players to receive a painkiller before kick-off, and then again at half-time, especially when they first return from an AC joint injury.
Newcastle star Kalyn Ponga suffered a grade-five AC joint injury at the end of 2023 and was back in two weeks. The arrival of the NRL finals sped up his return.
Crichtonโs NSW Blues teammate Liam Martin required a needle each week for most of the season to treat an AC injury in 2024, while more recently Broncos prop Payne Haas has had to manage a similar injury.
South Sydney skipper Cameron Murray said this week he battled an AC joint injury in 2019, and at different stages in 2020.
โOnce you get the needle it sorts you out, and while I have full range now, one shoulder is probably five to 10 per cent weaker than the other side,โ Murray said.
The Dogs will welcome the experience and calmness of their skipper after a disappointing performance against the lowly Eels.
Crichton was tight-lipped about whether he would return on the left side โ which would see him face a first-up task against Brisbane weapon Kotoni Staggs โ or revert to right centre, which would allow Bronson Xerri to remain on his preferred edge.
The 25-year-old said the Dogs blew the start of the game against Parramatta, and were guilty of wanting to shift the ball sideways too early in the shock 38-20 loss. That unhappy performance came a week after Canterbury had ended Penrithโs unbeaten start to the season.
