Ex-Man of Steel, 35, suffered a freak training ground accident that left him fearing the worst barely three weeks ago but he returned to help pull off an unbelievable 42-6 win over Warrington
Wakefield’s crocked Luke Gale thought he was retiring barely three weeks ago – before buying a new pair of boots and outshining England captain George Williams.
The veteran scrum-half, 35, was in inspired form as bottom-placed Trinity stunned Warrington 42-6 on Sunday. It has hugely boosted their chances of avoiding relegation – and cost Gale’s former Castleford boss Daryl Powell his job as Wolves coach. But the ex-England No7 revealed he felt his career was over after a freak training ground accident forced him to miss Trinity’s previous two games.
Gale admitted: “I honestly thought I was retired. I looked down and my ankle was massive. It looked like a fracture straight away. It swelled up and it was that bad that I nearly got carried off! I even cut my boot off. I didn’t have any boots to play in so I had to buy some more!
“The lads were laughing their heads off when we realised it wasn’t that bad at all and I’d be back playing in three weeks. I got a lot of stick for it. I’m really lucky. It still doesn’t feel great but it was good enough to play.”