Gordon D'Arcy says a serious arm injury could have seen his rugby career come to an end before the 2009 Grand Slam-winning campaign.
The former Ireland centre joined Off The Ball and Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney live on stage at tonight's Coppers Roadshow special and recalled a moment when he was given the possible outcomes prior to an operation.
"I missed 11 months and two weeks, three operations on it. I broke my arm in seven places and my wrist in three places. I'd played three years on the trot at that stage, unavailable for one game in three years, and pretty much played three years," he said, adding that "the arm just exploded really".
"My problem was there was a gap of about an inch in my arm that just wouldn't heal. That didn't heal, so three months is gone, so you go back in and get another operation.
"The third operation that's when I was very cognisant that this might be it because the surgeon had said 'listen, if it doesn't work, you're done, I won't operate on you a fourth time because you run the risk of infection and you might lose your arm - that's very extreme so don't focus on that, please'. That's just what he was saying. So it was the gist of 'you won't be operated on again, so if it heels, great, if it doesn't make other plans'".
'I don't expect players to do what I did. In fact if I see them doing that stuff I'm not happy' - Geezer. pic.twitter.com/KlEW33dj7H
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) April 14, 2016
Ju jitsu enthusiast McGeeney also revealed that Kildare's Eoin O'Flaherty sparred with Conor McGregor when the ex-Lilywhites manager took his players for a ju jitsu session.
"Most of our team talks were done down there near the toilets (in Coppers)", says McGeeney of his Na Fianna days. #OTBCoppers
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) April 14, 2016
"The fellas enjoyed it. It beats the gym. A few of them sparred with a few people just for a bit of craic, Conor being one of them," he said.
