Mike Tindall counts blessings after scare

By Rob Wildman

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Mike Tindall has retained his sense of humour, in spite of the horrific accidental kick which left him writhing in pain on the Twickenham turf.

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After a week in a London hospital he has returned to his Gloucestershire home and is looking forward to walking his group of dogs and helping his partner, Zara Phillips, with her stable of horses.

	Horrific: England team doctor Simon Kemp signals for a stretcher for the badly injured Mike Tindall

He has been told to rest up for the next three weeks and smiled yesterday about the imminent start of the equestrian season in which his girlfriend will be out to gain a place in the British Olympic team.

"Probably, I will just be getting back to being allowed to do some things next month and she will want someone to shovel muck or something," he said.

As for his own comeback he is setting no date until he has revisited the surgeon who is plotting his recovery from those serious internal injuries.

That scan comes in three weeks and before then he has been told to do nothing more than walk his Bull Terriers and Labradors. He admitted that he was likely to become thoroughly bored at the routine and was hopeful that he was showing signs of a quick recover.

The latest blood tests have been good and Tindall, 29, hopes the internal bleeding, which caused the biggest worry, is over. He suffered the injury when he slithered across the pitch in an attempt to win possession only to land on top of Mark Jones' foot immediately after the Wales wing had hoofed the ball away.

It was an accidental kick that left the Gloucester centre having to be carried off and out of the Six Nations. He thought at first he had only winded himself, but the searing pain did not stop. It was quelled by morphine and he eventually finished up in Hammersmith Hospital where surgeons diagnosed that he had torn a hole in his liver and had punctured a lung.

The problem continues a horrendous list of injuries for the World Cup winner since the 2003 final that have ranged from a broken foot and leg, a reconstructed shoulder to torn abductor muscles. "Yes, I've had a few weird ones - it must just be me. You don't want to ever stop doing what you are doing and questioning yourself.

"I'm sure the first thing I am going to do when I come back is to dive on a ball. It was just one of those freak things and you have just got to put it down to that," was how he reasoned.

He had to spend three days in intensive care before the medical staff were confident that he had started to recover and that the internal bleeding had stopped.

He is refusing to pin his hopes on an exact comeback date, though he hopes to play again this season and is aware that one "awesome" goal is the Heineken Cup quarter-final against Munster at Kingsholm on April 5.

Tindall said he was only detained in intensive care as a precaution. "I was never going to die like some headlines said. That was why they had to keep me in, in case the bleeding did not stop they would then have had to fix the tear in the liver.

"But the surgeon was fairly happy that the blood had clotted quite well, though I had lost quite a bit. It stopped pretty quickly and they were happy that surgery would not be required as long as I was careful.

"Basically, anyone who has been winded knows the feeling and it was like that for 45 minutes. I was lying on the field thinking that it was a rib injury. So you hope you get your breath back quickly but it did not happen.

"I hope to play again this season. It's completely open ended and will depend on how things settle down. As long as the bruising around the liver goes then there is no reason why I shouldn't be back.

"The only thing you do in this case is rest. When you have surgery you are always looking at how you can shave time off. This one is a case of looking at what drugs I can take to help the liver, but it's mainly about leaving the body to do what it does."

Like all England players and supporters, he had a frustrating Sunday watching the laboured win over Italy. Dean Ryan, Gloucester's head coach, believes his absence will be severely felt by both national and club teams, because of his experience.

Tindall wants England to be a little more patient and to play in the manner they started in the games against Wales and Italy. If he had been on the pitch then those long kicks and "miracle" passes would not have been attempted because he has the experience to tell Jonny Wilkinson and co what to do.

"I am sure they will be disappointed with it but at the same time getting a win is always a bonus. No one ever seems to believe you when you say it is hard to go over to Rome to beat Italy," he argued.

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Related articles Previous Six Nations winners 4 February 2008: Mike Tindall out of England's Six Nations

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Now here's a real hero !

Don't rush it Mike - we need you around for a few more seasons yet :-)

Take good care and God Bless.
Posted by John Bull on February 14, 2008 11:50 AM
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Mike Tindell is a greatly competitive player who will be missed in this England campaign.
I wish him a speedy return to health and an injury-free remainder of the season.
Posted by Anne, Cheshire on February 14, 2008 10:32 AM
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What a stunning example of courage and heart!
Who could ever forget him busting through the 'tackle' of Wendell Sailor and requiring three men to bring him down, back in Sydney in 2003.
England 'cricketers', please take note!
Posted by Graham Mitchell on February 14, 2008 5:13 AM
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