Storm’s Cameron Munster wants to play round 2 despite needing finger surgery

There’s tough and then there’s Cameron Munster, who has revealed what his gruesome finger injury felt like.

Cameron Munster played on with a serious finger injury. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Cameron Munster knew something was wrong when he saw “a bit of bone sticking out” of his badly injured finger on Thursday night.

The Storm superstar has, however, vowed to play in round 2, if he can, despite needing surgery to repair the damage suffered in a tackle on Parramatta skipper Clint Gutherson in the first half of the NRL season opener.

Munster rushed from the field late in the first half and there were immediate fears that he could be out for weeks with what was originally diagnosed as a compound fracture.

It was later confirmed that he’d suffered a compound dislocation instead, and after getting through some fitness tests, he returned in the second half to lead Melbourne to a famous win thanks to a Harry Grant try in extra time.

Cameron Munster dislocated his finger but played on in a brave performance. Picture: NRL Photos

The rep star showed off his injury in the sheds after the game, with blood oozing from the wound, but there’s a chance he doesn’t miss any action, with Munster hopeful he’ll be right to play the Bulldogs next week.

“That’s the aim. I’ll have to see how much pain I am in tomorrow (Friday),” he said.

“The numbing needles are still doing a pretty good job at the moment. I’ll be interested to see how I wake up tomorrow, and hopefully it doesn’t get infected. We’ll go from there.

Cameron Munster off with a finger/hand issue. Differential is fracture vs dislocation:
- if fractured most will require at least 3-4 weeks recovery
- isolated dislocation much quicker recovery, very best case could be back tonight#NRLEelsStorm

— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) March 2, 2023

“(I had) two needles, one in there, one in there. It‘s a bit yucky at the moment.

“I‘ve dislocated this finger already before but not a compound. I was a bit surprised when I saw it come out. I have never seen bone come out before. And I hate needles. I was squealing like a 10-year-old kid in there when he was needling me up.

“I felt my finger go numb when I got out of that tackle against Gutho, and I thought that doesn‘t feel right. I looked down and there was a bit of bone sticking out.

“Shock hit, and I didn‘t really have much emotion until I got off and the doc said I have to put a needle in to numb it up. I’d much rather let it sit there. I hate needles.”

Munster played a starring role. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Shock may have hit but the biggest surprise was how well Munster played in the second half despite being clearly hampered.

The five-eighth put his body on the line several times and delivered the play of the night when he skipped to the left off a scrum, passed to himself and then released Young Tonumaipea to make it 12-all.

“I just tried passing a little bit more. I probably didn’t run the ball as much as I would like to,” he said.

“It was still sore at times, even with numbing needles in the finger, but I was all right. At times I didn‘t inject myself as much as I would need to. I was probably more of a passer than my running game. It’s something I need to focus on next week.

“If I’m only going to be 60 or 70 per cent I’m not going to push it. I’ll make sure I’m 100 per cent before I go back out there again.”

~Cameron Munster to undergo surgery for compound dislocation, Xavier Coates injured, Melbourne Storm injury updates, Ryan Papenhuyzen, Justin Olam~https://t.co/UNGQJjJdNS#News#Information#Business#Travel#Food#Sports#Cricket#Student#Health#Infotech#WFH#Marketing... pic.twitter.com/wWPdWXIeDB

— TechFakt (@FaktTech) March 2, 2023

Munster spoke of how the team dug deep to keep Craig Bellamy’s incredible round 1 record intact, with the Storm showing the defensive resolve that seemed to be lacking at different stages last year.

Bellamy spoke after the game about how happy he was to see the old Storm spirit return – something that was confirmed by a new recruit who noticed they weren’t quite the same last year when they were bundled out of the finals in the first week.

“We spoke to Tariq Sims when he came down to the club and asked him what he thought we lost or lacked a little bit when he come here. He said a bit of aggression and a bit of mongrelness,” Munster revealed.

“That really opened our eyes up.

“We thought we need to get back to the style of footy we want to play.

“Tariq is an honest man, that’s why I love him. He doesn’t beat around the bush. It was brutal honesty and we needed that. We needed a reality check, it was good.”