Injured prop Dylan Napa says he’s confident he’ll line up for the Maroons in Origin II
WEDNESDAY IS D-Day for fiery Queensland prop Dylan Napa, who says he has barely slept since suffering his ankle injury in a bid to ensure his fitness for Origin II.
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D-DAY has arrived for fiery Queensland prop Dylan Napa, who says he has barely slept since suffering his ankle injury in a bid to ensure his fitness for Origin II.
The Maroons forward will have to get through Wednesday’s contested training session on the Gold Coast to receive the green light from coach Kevin Walters to play on Sunday.
Napa aggravated an old ankle problem on Friday night while playing for the Roosters, throwing his Origin campaign into doubt.
But he has revealed just how much work he has put into getting himself healthy for the all-important training session, tending to his left ankle around the clock.
“I’ve only had about 12 hours sleep since the game (on Friday),” Napa said.
“I’ve been around the clock on the ice machine and physio. I’ve just tried to get the 72 hours of recovery as best as I could and each 24 hours it’s been getting better and better.
“It’s been numb pretty much the whole (recovery) because I’ve been in the ice and compressing it. I’ve had the compression socks on.
“It’s not too painful, it’s just whether I can accelerate and the finer details we’ll figure out in the field session … The real test will be Wednesday.”
The 25-year-old was in serious doubt ahead of the Game Two camp, but continual discussions with Walters had Maroons officials hopeful their starting prop would make a fast recovery.
He arrived in camp on Monday morning with a moon boot on his left foot and failed to take part in a light training session in the afternoon.
However, the moon boot was gone on Tuesday and Napa was confident he could prove to Walters and the medical staff he was fit.
He suffered a similar ligament injury last year and was ruled out for two to three weeks, but said scans had shown this was not as bad and he could feel the injury improving daily.
“If it was up to me, I would be playing,” Napa said.
“But that’s why I’ve got the professionals and all the medical staff. I’m really hopeful and I think I’ll be playing.
“It’s not the worst-case scenario. I wouldn’t be the first person to play on an injured ankle and I probably won’t be the last if I do play. I just want to get down there and try to even up that series.
“But if the best thing for the team is for me to not play and for Tim Glasby or whoever it may be to come in at 100 per cent, then I’ll do that for the team.”
Originally published as Injured prop Dylan Napa says he’s confident he’ll line up for the Maroons in Origin II
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