Stephen Crichton reveals true extent of nerve damage and fears he has about his future

Stephen Crichton has been dealing with a loss of feeling in his right arm following an incident in Townsville last year, with the Bulldogs skipper revealing fears a big hit on the field might lead to permanent damage.

Bulldogs skipper Stephen Crichton is feeling much better after sending a scare through the squad on Sunday night with a neck issue, but the representative centre admits he’s worried that there could come a time when he cops a hit and doesn’t recover as he continues to deal with nerve damage from a tackle last year.

Crichton made a tackle on Knights forward Jermaine McEwen with eight minutes to go in the first half of Canterbury’s 20-0 victory and stayed down in agony, with fears he’d done serious damage to his shoulder or neck.

The 24-year-old was able to continue and saw out the game, with Crichton in no doubt for the Good Friday blockbuster against the Rabbitohs, but it’s an issue that will need to be monitored going forward.

Crichton revealed that this will be an ongoing issue following an incident in Townsville last year where he was tackled by three Cowboys which caused his right arm to go completely limp as he slumped to the ground.

He missed the following week and said it was “a similar feeling on the weekend” when he stayed down after making the tackle.

Stephen Crichton first suffered the injury against the Cowboys last year. Picture: Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images

“My body has been all right, but that nerve stuff is something small from last year that I was carrying,” he told the NewsWire.

“It comes and goes sometimes when I get hit right on that spot. It doesn’t matter how hard it is, but my whole arm just goes dead.

“It’s nothing that I can strap or put a pad on it so I have to be smart with my tackles.

“I had to go get scans and it showed that I pinched a nerve up at the back of my head. It’s the nerve that attaches to my arm and gives my arm feeling.”

A heart in mouth moment for Bulldogs fans, but Stephen Crichton has carried on...

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A number of NRL players have dealt with varying degrees of nerve damage, with Dolphins enforcer Tom Flegler currently sidelined with an injury that has kept him out for 12 months.

Crichton is comfortable playing but says he’s “scared” that there could be a moment when he’s not so lucky.

“My whole arm goes dead and I can’t really feel it, and it actually takes a while for my feeling to come back,” he explained.

“I’m scared that one time I might hit it and not get any (feeling back) so you never know.

“Once I start to get that feeling back, I know that I’m sweet because I’ve done it a few times.

“But I’m definitely scared that one time I might do it and that feeling doesn’t come back.

“I always pray to be protected on the field, and it should be all right.”

Originally published as Stephen Crichton reveals true extent of nerve damage and fears he has about his future