The forgotten Huddersfield Giant: Simon Finnigan on way back

Jan 11 2010 by Chris Roberts, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

HE’S the forgotten man of Huddersfield Giants.

But Simon Finnigan is finally back with his teammates and starting his rehabilitation work in Huddersfield.

And that’s a major step forward for the 28-year-old former Bradford Bulls back-rower, who’s managed to ‘escape’ from his Widnes home at last after the most frustrating four months of his career.

In that time, the Ireland international has undergone major shoulder and neck surgery and then, under doctor’s orders, been warned to do absolutely nothing for a seven-week period.

For some, that may seem like bliss!

But for a professional athlete like Finnigan, it’s proved to be his worst nightmare, both physically and mentally, and the sooner it comes to an end the better.

“Last week was a major step forward for me, and it’s given me a big boost,” said Finnigan.

“For a start, it was the first time I’d seen most of my teammates since the final game of last season in September.

“Between then and now, I’ve had to undergo my shoulder operation first and then had the surgery on my neck.

“After that, my surgeon told me I couldn’t do anything at all for seven weeks, which I found incredibly tough.

“But, to be honest, if you’re ever unlucky enough to have an operation on your neck you’ll quickly realise you can hardly do anything any way. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone!

“Almost everything you do puts pressure on your neck and, take it from me, it’s incredibly painful. Even sleeping can be a pretty bad experience.

“Fortunately, during that time, we had our second child, Tyler, which was obviously a special moment and did act as a very welcome distraction to everything.

“But, again, that was tinged with a lot of frustration as well, because in the first few weeks I wasn’t able to hold him or look after him at all.

“Thankfully, that’s also behind me now, and I can start doing my fair share and can start to look ahead far more positively.”

Having said that, however, Finnigan is still well aware his return to competitive action is still some way down the track.

And at this stage he’s not in a position to predict a return date.

“Because my surgeon has never had to do these two operations in such a relatively short space of time my recovery rate is something of an unknown quantity,” added Finnigan, who has also had spells with Widnes and Salford and is in the second year of his three-year Giants deal.