Paul Rogers positive despite his injury

The former Handsworth Rugby Union Football Club skipper has been out of the game since last September, following a sickening injury during a game for the Orchard Hills side.

The 32-year-old suffered a broken neck in a match at Harborne. But the father-of-one, who is now well on the road to recovery, admits he was 'a a lucky chap' after avoiding a more serious injury.

And while there are nothing but positive times ahead for the young father, with his wife Emma expecting their second child in January, he looked back on that dark day last September and his painful memories.

He said: "It was absolutely frightening. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

"The nurses are all trained and deal with this kind of thing regularly and never deliver the 'you have broken your neck' news how you want to hear it.

"I didn't lose consciousness on the pitch and it wasn't a malicious tackle. It was a real one-in-a-million, a freak accident.

"If I could compare the exact moment to anything then it was like when you have fried chicken and you snap one of bones.

"I knew it was fairly serious but I could wiggle my toes so I didn't think it would be anything like that – but I was hyperventilating."

Paul is also fulsome in his praise for nurse Elizabeth Reynolds, saying: "I want to pay tribute to Elizabeth Reynolds, the nurse that was fortunately there on the day.

"Liz held my head in place for a long time before the ambulance arrived.

"My family strongly believe that her involvement in the immediate treatment is one of the reasons why I escaped without more serious injuries."

A spell in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital spell followed as Paul started the long road to recovery.

Paul said: "After seven days bed-bound at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, they tested my standing and walking and discharged me.

"But that was the start of a very long road. I had a stiff neck-collar on for three months. It fixed my head in one place and movement was extremely limited.

"The simplest things were a chore. I had to be helped eating and washing for a long time.

"There are pictures of me at Christmas-time with my beard that I was unable to shave, things started becoming really messy!"

But just two months ago, the South Staffs Water worker received the uplifting news that he had been given the all-clear for exercise.

And while he has been instructed never to play his beloved rugby again – the return to 'relative normality,' as he puts it, is an exciting one.

The love and support from his wife, Emma, who was able to help both her husband and two-year-old daughter Katie through the dark times, has also been crucial.

He said: "My wife has been an absolute hero through the whole thing. For a long time, she essentially had to take care of two kids because I couldn't do anything.

"The first thing she had to comprehend was that the three of us were not jetting off the next day for our holiday in Portugal anymore.

"I know it was really hard for her and in the back of her mind she was probably thinking 'when will it be right?'

"It was really tough for both of us. Katie didn't understand that all of a sudden daddy couldn't pick her up or play with her anymore."

But in typical fashion, Paul refused to be down and spoke at just how much his young family drove him on to recover.

He said: "My family were more than a good distraction from being down. You have your priorities and recovering for their sake was the main one.

"But my club have also given me phenomenal support. I absolutely love the place.

"It's always been a big family from day one and it has certainly helped me get better."

The match at Harborne was the club's third of the 2014-15 campaign.

They had began with two victories under captain Paul's guidance and he was a regular supporter for the remaining matches of their successful season.

"The club have achieved a few promotions recently and everyone had started taking it that bit more seriously.

"We had recently won the Staffs Cup, that was in my second season and it was also the club's 125th year.

"The season before my injury we had just missed out on promotion but the boys were able to win the league this season.

"It was hard to watch. But at the same time it was really fulfilling. I was really proud of the new skipper, JB Luczak, and the lads for pulling it off."

Paul took his first steps on the road to physical recovery as he pulled on a shirt to represent the club in a Staffs RFU run-touch tournament as part of the Rugby World Cup preparations.

In true style, Paul helped them over the line to victory.