Injury worry

I HURT my knee during Saturday’s win over Otley at Brickfields.
I did it in the second half, but I am not sure how I did it.
It turns out I have tweaked my MCL and it could be touch-and-go whether I will be fit for this weekend’s Devon derby against Exeter at Sandy Park.
I am just going to have to see how it goes this week.
I am not going to do a lot this week and just hope it will get better before the weekend. Fingers crossed I will be fit, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
You don’t want to miss any game, but especially not one as big as Exeter and not when I have just got back in the team.
But if I can play this weekend I will.
I was enjoying myself against Otley before I got injured.
I was lucky enough to get a bit of ball, especially in the first half, and I was able to run around a bit, which is what I like to do.
I felt I had a couple of decent runs on Saturday.
We got the win, which was important, but in the second half we gave Otley a bit too much leeway and allowed them back into the match.
They got a bit of momentum and confidence and it ended up being closer than we would have liked.
We put ourselves under a bit of needless pressure and we were hanging on to the win at the end.
But at the end of the day a win is a win.
The game also saw my Canadian compatriot Sean-Michael Stephen score his first try for Albion.
But it was me who did all the hard work and he was just there to finish it off!
We had a laugh about that yesterday.
He joked he was running beside me hoping I would get tackled so that he could score.
It was his first try so he was happy.
Sean-Michael works really hard. His work-rate is top-notch. He gets around the field very well and he was there for the off-load.
Hopefully, he can score a couple more tries before the end of the season – starting this weekend against Exeter.
I have to say was impressed by the crowd on Saturday against Otley.
It was great to see so many people turn out and support the team.
It shows that people are willing to get behind the club and the team.
The Otley game came at the end of a tough week for the club.
But when it comes down to it the players are just there to play and enjoy themselves on the field.
The guys put everything that had gone on behind them when they took to the field on Saturday.
Last week’s news (about the budget shortfall) was a bit of a shock to the majority of players.
As a player no one likes to hear news like that, but these are tough times for everyone.
Everyone is being affected by the economic climate worldwide.
When you are affected it is not nice, but when you look at the bigger picture you realise there is a lot of people worse off.
The current situation is not ideal, but it is something the team and the club just have to get through.
I am sure this team will continue to stick together for the rest of the season.
We are all keen to do well this weekend.
It is another derby match and, hopefully, there will be a good amount of our supporters going up for the game.
If we could turn Exeter over it would be huge for us, but we know it won’t be easy to do that.
They have got a very big squad and an outstanding rugby team, but I would back us on a particular day. I believe we can beat them.
Unfortunately, we have lost another player, Keni Fisilau, to long-term injury.
It has been a really tough year for us on the injury front and most seem to have been long-term injuries, like David Palu, James Tideswell and Martin Rice. We have had some horrific knee injuries. I think we have been pretty unlucky this season, but the way this sport is you know there is a risk of getting injured.
Hopefully, we won’t get too many more this season.
But some of the injuries we have suffered have been really freaky. Nat Saumi’s finger injury, where he broke it in a warm-up, was definitely one of those. You almost had to laugh about it because it was one of those things that should not have happened.
But as a club we just have to get on with it. The injuries have given other players opportunities and I think it has made the team stronger. From one to 35, everyone has had to play their part.