Wales Women international Georgia Evans has revealed the horrific details of the injury which left doctors fearing she may lose her arm.
Evans was hurt just four minutes into Saracens' match against Bristol Bears last month after getting her arm trapped awkwardly in a tackle. The freak incident saw the game halted for more than 45 minutes as she received treatment, with medics revealing she had dislocated her wrist and broken her radius and ulna.
Evans, 25, was taken to hospital and put on morphine before undergoing surgery two days later. She now has metal plates and screws in her left forearm.
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“My only previous injury since I took up rugby about eight years ago was a dead leg that kept me out for one game. This time I’ve gone to the other end of the scale with a proper, gruesome injury,” Evans told the Saracens website.
“It was painful and scary at the time, but the medical attention I received on the pitch, in the medical room at the hospital in Bristol and then from the Saracens medical team was simply incredible. They pumped me full of morphine for the pain and got me into theatre within two days. It made me feel valued and was nothing more or less than the players in the men’s team would have received."
Evans’ rehab is being jointly managed by Saracens and the Welsh Rugby Union, where she is one of several players now on a semi-professional retainer contract. The injury means she will miss the whole of the TikTok Women's Six Nations but she hopes to be back before the Premier 15s season finishes in June in time to stake a claim to make Wales' World Cup squad for this autumn.
“The first thing that went through my mind after the injury was that this is World Cup year for the women’s game. We’ve all been waiting so long for the tournament in New Zealand in October,” added Evans. "Then the pain and severity of the injury took over. Inside the medical room they were concerned they couldn’t find a pulse in my wrist and so decided they had to re-set my wrist. “The worry was that I could lose my arm, which was a bit freaky. When they put my wrist back in place that’s when I screamed the loudest!"
Evans is one of 12 women who have been awarded part-time retainer contracts with the WRU, adding to 12 stars who became full-time professionals in January. "I can't wait to get stuck into my rehab," she added. "I want to come back fitter, faster and stronger than ever before and I want to be back in time for the semi-finals."
