28 January 2024 , 22:00
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At one point in his injury ordeal, Castleford’s Danny Richardson couldn’t even face walking to his fridge.
But 18 months after suffering a horrific knee injury, the talented scrum-half is back firing again and ready for any challenge. Richardson tore his ACL and MCL against Salford in August 2022. He missed all of last season as Tigers battled to avoid relegation.
But the ex-St Helens star recently returned to action in a friendly against London and now the February 17 Super League start against champions Wigan is firmly in his sights. Richardson admitted: “At times you don’t think that day - playing again - is going to come as 18 months is so long.
"I was excited more than anything to get back playing. It’s my livelihood and it’s all I want to do: play rugby and win. I’ve not been able to do that for a full year and a half. It was just a great feeling to get back out there. And thankfully I had no issues.”
The 27 year-old admitted there’s been plenty of dark times during his long recovery. Team-mates would be in and out of the Castleford treatment room while he felt like he was treading water.
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Richardson said: “That’s probably the worst bit. Someone will get a two month injury and they’ll be in and out. And you’ll be at almost the same stage as when they came in.
“It’s baby steps. For me, I’ve always tried to run before I can walk. Your daily ability to just walk down the stairs. In the first stages you just want to go to the fridge and get a drink and it’s that much of an effort that you can’t be bothered. You have to develop patience. Thankfully we’re here now.”
Castleford Tigers' Danny Richardson is on the comeback trail after 18 months sidelined. (OMH Rugby Pix) (OMH Rugby Pix)Richardson, who joined Castleford in 2020, believes he’s matured during that lengthy enforced break. The England Knights international, who says new coach Craig Lingard has improved the “culture” at Wheldon Road, added: “It’s just made me put things into perspective.
“You can get too down about a loss sometimes or too high about a win. “For a period of time you lose the general function of your life. For example, I struggled bathing my daughter at times because I couldn’t kneel down. You sort of forget about rugby for a bit and realise what actually does matter like your family. You grow up a bit.
“I’ve developed as a person. If anything, watching every week, it’s just made me more hungry and excited to just get back playing. Once you take a step back and can’t affect the game it is really frustrating especially the way we were going last year. I just wanted to help out and I couldn’t. Hopefully now I can.”