Slow Recovery for RFM

[TwinTurbo]

Gun forward facing premature retirement

'He still has a long way to go'

wwos.nine.com.au

Bulldogs forward Raymond Faitala-Mariner making slow but steady progress to save career

"He still has a long way to go but he's better this time around compared to his previous surgery for the same injury," Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould told Wide World of Sports.

"You can't question his courage and work ethic - he is really putting in.

"He is still in rehab and only running on 50 per cent of his body weight. But no pain so far which is encouraging. He has been able to participate in weights programs.


Come on Ray, we know you can do it, we need you competing for a spot.

Always a Bulldog

 

[JayBee]

Those rumours a few months back of near retirement for RFM do not sound too far off the mark now.

Damaging player when on the park - hopefully he will have a good season on the park. Despite his limited games with us, he’s a player pencilled in for our 17 at full strength.

 

[Moedogg]

All the best Ray. I guess thats positive news, i had no idea how bad his injury was.

 

[D0GMATIC]

There's still more than 10 weeks till the first game. If he keeps saying his prayers and eating his vitamins Hulkster style ,he might be back for round 1

 

[bullanth]

Would be a real bonus coming of the bench hopefully his luck will change this year,on his day I believe is one of the best running forwards going around.

 

[B-Train]

I feel bad for RFM because he's a talented player but he's missed a tonne of games over the years and this injury seems like it could end his career. Hopefully he can recover but I wouldn't be expecting much from him even if he does make it back.

 

[JayBee]

I feel bad for RFM because he's a talented player but he's missed a tonne of games over the years and this injury seems like it could end his career. Hopefully he can recover but I wouldn't be expecting much from him even if he does make it back.

The sad part is, his earlier years with us were hit with injury. In 2020, he virtually played the entire season. 2021 could of been a good year for him, but that injury really crueler him.

He’s still played 70 odd games with us over a 5 year period.

 

[speedy2460]

Really has been forced to play in a sub standard team.
Now we have a competitive team, he is struggling to be fit. He is good when he's right.

 

[JAYDOG]

Feet For Hands at times.But i wish him luck..

 

[Roger the alien]

I highly doubt he'll be playing in round 1

 

[senshidog]

Why has the injury taken so long to mend? Players have had back/neck/major knee surgery and been on the field faster.
Was it mismanagement of the initial injury, or a poor job by health professionals?

Something just seems a bit off about the insane amount of time it's taken for him to recover.

 

[Heckler]

Why has the injury taken so long to mend? Players have had back/neck/major knee surgery and been on the field faster.
Was it mismanagement of the initial injury, or a poor job by health professionals?

Something just seems a bit off about the insane amount of time it's taken for him to recover.

Bone grafting.....not easy.

 

[enoughsaid]

Who?

 

[D0GMATIC]

So worst case scenario, RFM and Tui Katoa don't make it on the park next year do we get any dispensation or can we use their roster spot and cap money for someone else ?

 

[Kempsey Dog]

I like RFM and think he's good for the team when at peak. But we can't be planning anything for him other than a bench role, or starting reserve grade for a while once he's cleared to play

 

[TwinTurbo]

Why has the injury taken so long to mend? Players have had back/neck/major knee surgery and been on the field faster.
Was it mismanagement of the initial injury, or a poor job by health professionals?

Something just seems a bit off about the insane amount of time it's taken for him to recover.

Feet are complex organs, there are 26 x bones, 30 x joints and over 100 x muscles, tendons and ligaments in each foot. A stress fracture is most common in the 2nd or 3rd metatarsal as they are thinner and longer than the 1st metatarsal. They don't get a lot of blood flow which also means longer recovery time. My understanding is, as per normal practise, we tried the nonsurgical treatment, the usual RICE protocols (Rest, Ice, Compression & Elevation) plus anti-inflammatory medication and using crutches to keep weight off his foot until the pain subsides which can take up to 6 weeks. This wasn't successful, the fracture didn't heal and as a result I believe we resorted to surgical treatment, internal fixation, which involves supporting the bone/s by inserting a fastener/s, pins, screws, and/or plates. Recovery time is commonly 4 to 8 weeks, again this wasn't successful. So we resorted to an autogenous bone graft, commonly taken from the tibia, with a recovery time of around 10 weeks. This is not a "no risk" procedure, as the tibia can be weakened by the bone removal.

A quick add 6 + 8 + 10 = 24 weeks plus add in assessment time before and after each step and it's easy to see how long it has taken. Of course it would be easy, in hindsight, to say we should have gone for the bone graft straight away, but that's not the usual process, particularly if the patient shows no previous history of slow bone regeneration.


Always a Bulldog

 

[D0GMATIC]

Feet are complex organs, there are 26 x bones, 30 x joints and over 100 x muscles, tendons and ligaments in each foot. A stress fracture is most common in the 2nd or 3rd metatarsal as they are thinner and longer than the 1st metatarsal. They don't get a lot of blood flow which also means longer recovery time. My understanding is, as per normal practise, we tried the nonsurgical treatment, the usual RICE protocols (Rest, Ice, Compression & Elevation) plus anti-inflammatory medication and using crutches to keep weight off his foot until the pain subsides which can take up to 6 weeks. This wasn't successful, the fracture didn't heal and as a result I believe we resorted to surgical treatment, internal fixation, which involves supporting the bone/s by inserting a fastener/s, pins, screws, and/or plates. Recovery time is commonly 4 to 8 weeks, again this wasn't successful. So we resorted to an autogenous bone graft, commonly taken from the tibia, with a recovery time of around 10 weeks. This is not a "no risk" procedure, as the tibia can be weakened by the bone removal.

A quick add 6 + 8 + 10 = 24 weeks plus add in assessment time before and after each step and it's easy to see how long it has taken. Of course it would be easy, in hindsight, to say we should have gone for the bone graft straight away, but that's not the usual process, particularly if the patient shows no previous history of slow bone regeneration.


Always a Bulldog

He got the graft done 3 months ago, with 10 weeks till round 1 he might be on target to play in the early rounds

 

[JayBee]

He got the graft done 3 months ago, with 10 weeks till round 1 he might be on target to play in the early rounds

Not sure id risk him for round 1, if he has no trials under his belt.

Reggies might be the way to go to start. Get his confidence back - it’ll be pretty much a full year in my mind before we see him in FG

 

[Malla]

Heard he is struggling, had another set back. Well, not really a set back, he is still recovering well, but he is behind schedule.

The issue is its so easy to reaggravate a foot injury, and if you do then you probably did more damage than the original injury. This is the issue for RFM, when he is fit enough to run a full pelt, he's then got to get his body right with contact. This could drag on until late next season unfortunately.

 

[Spoonman84]

You just cannot rely on him to make any meaningful contribution with his injury record. If it’s not this foot injury he will get injure something else. If he plays more than a handful of games it’s a bonus.