‘It felt like I was getting stabbed in the back’: Eels young gun opens up on sickening injury

A first-half hat-trick should have been the greatest moment of Sean Russell’s NRL career, but instead it left the Eels youngster struggling to breathe.

Sean Russell wants to win back his NRL jersey after a sickening injury ruined his season. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

Sean Russell can remember the noise at CommBank Stadium when he crashed over for his third try inside the opening half of Parramatta’s season opener, but ecstasy soon turned to agony in what would be his final play in the NRL for 2022.

It’s why the 20-year-old is so desperate to win back a starting spot after one of the most painful injuries imaginable that left him struggling to breathe.

Russell sat atop the NRL leading try-scorer chart after the opening round of the 2022 season alongside Dragons winger Mikaele Ravalawa after grabbing three tries in a dream first half against the Titans.

There was immediate concern for Sean Russell following the sickening collision. Picture; Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

But instead of celebrating his third try, Russell couldn’t move after collecting knees to his ribs as he slid over in the left corner.

The freak accident left him with fractured ribs and a punctured lung that ruined what should have been the best day of his young career.

“It was pretty crazy. I heard the crowd go nuts when I scored the last try, but that was pretty much it for me,” Russell told NCA NewsWire.

“I just remember not being able to breathe. I thought I was winded at the time, but after a minute I realised it was a lot worse than that.

“It was the worst pain I’d ever been in and it felt like I was getting stabbed in the back. The worst thing was the pain didn’t go away until I got to hospital.

“They had to reflate my lung while I was awake. They put a tube in through my ribs and then had to reflate my lung to get all the blood and air out of there.

“It was a bit frustrating, but I can’t really do much now. That’s footy, it’s happened, I’ve moved on and now I get to see what this year has in store for me.”

Russell celebrates one of his three tries against the Titans.

It took Russell almost nine weeks to get back to peak fitness, with the youngster admitting he struggled for the first few sessions to get his breath back.

His return to rugby league was a solid one, scoring in Parramatta’s loss to Penrith in NSW Cup, and that’s where he would see out the season, with Russell unable to win back his NRL spot as the Eels went all the way to the grand final.

He finished with 12 tries from 15 games in reserve grade, and even though he was playing well enough for an NRL recall, the closest he got was 18th man.

But a new season means he gets another chance to impress coach Brad Arthur who has picked him to play fullback for Saturday night’s pre-season clash against the Panthers.

Parramatta’s backline appears fairly settled, but the right wing spot is up for grabs and Russell can use Saturday’s game as an audition to win back a jersey he never deserved to lose.

“I just want to show him what I can do and what I can do for the team,” he said.

“I want to play as much first grade as possible and really nail down a spot in this team.”