Halfback Jock Madden will return to Wests Tigers’ NRL side this week after he was forced to take an unforeseen break from rugby league.
Madden, who will replace Adam Doueihi in the No. 7 jersey against the Sydney Roosters on Sunday, hasn’t played for nearly a month.
He explained his enforced absence in the bluntest terms, by saying: "I got kneed in the balls at training and got a hematoma, it’s not an injury you’d like."
Back-rower Samuela Fainu - all 109kg of him - was the offending party and immediately apologised to the pint-sized playmaker.
But Madden knew something wasn’t right when he finished his session and spoke to Tigers medical staff.
Within a couple of hours the 26-year-old playmaker had undergone emergency surgery.
"I finished training and felt pretty crook, so I went to see the doc and went for scans," Madden said.
"I’m not exactly too sure I went under (anaesthetic) ... I had to have surgery that night.
"It’s a bad bruise and very painful."
Madden confirmed his faculties were all intact after the medical episode and was pushing to play in last week’s loss to St George Illawarra.
Doueihi’s decision to undergo shoulder surgery this week has led to Madden coming back for Benji Marshall’s side as they seek to avoid slumping to a ninth-straight loss.
"I think it's been a bit of a learning curve for a lot of the younger boys in what it takes to be an NRL player week in week out," Madden said.
"But we’ve definitely got a side that can do great things.
"It’s a week by week thing for me and I obviously do what the coaches want me to do.
"It’s a good opportunity to finish the year off strong for myself and hopefully I can lead the boys strongly on the weekend."
