He finished the season in much better form for sure, he looked sensational in the final month or so in particular. Bit different to our mob! Very excited to bring him on board. Here's a further update, including word from Flanno:
“He’s broken his fibula – it’s not the way he wanted to finish in the [Cowboys] jersey,” Payten said. “We’re unsure if he’s cracked it when he scored, or properly broken it when he started to take off [later in the game]. We’re not quite sure. He was certainly aware of it. He gave it a good shot [playing on]. He’s on the plane with us this morning."
Dragons coach Shane Flanagan feared the worst when watching the game, but was relieved after speaking with his star recruit first thing Saturday.
“Val’s toughness is something that goes unnoticed,” Flanagan said. “He’s not the biggest body, but he played well and truly above his weight. Friday night he showed that mental toughness to play injured.
“I’m just glad it’s nothing worse. At least he gets a spell and won’t play in the rep teams, you’d think.
“I knew it was an impact injury when watching the game. Usually ACLs aren’t impact injuries – they happen when there’s nobody around. Then they mentioned achilles [on the TV commentary], so some bad thoughts went through my head.
“All our staff were saying it may have been a fracture to the fibula. They were straight on to it.
“I spoke to him this morning. He said he was walking around OK; he was in a boot, but he wouldn’t know the full extent until he has scans back in Townsville.”
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