Worcester Warriors forward Michael Fatialofa was cleared to return home last week after five months in hospital following a serious neck injury.
It was feared the New Zealand-born flanker, 27, might never walk again after he was hurt playing against Saracens on 4 January.
Fatialofa suffered his injury – a C4 vertebrae fracture and spinal contusion – when joining a maul less than a minute after coming on against Saracens as a second-half replacement at Allianz Park.
After almost three weeks in intensive care in London, he was then transferred to the rehab unit at the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital 40 miles away in Aylesbury.
After taking his first steps, he was then walking unaided within 11 weeks of suffering the injury. But now he has been allowed to complete his journey the extra 90 miles back to Worcester.
And now he could be attempting to make a comeback after his wife shared a video of the lock lifting weights with best friend and Worcester teammate Joe Taufete’e.
BEST GUYS I KNOW 🇼🇸❣️#timonandpumbaa@michaelfats @taufetee pic.twitter.com/cuAiwLGbXp
— Tatiana Fatialofa (@tatianafats) June 9, 2020
LIST | 5 times rugby referees got into fights
Never mess with a rugby referee.
1. Springbok fan attacks referee
South Africa’s 2002 Tri-Nations clash with New Zealand in Durban was thrown into chaos when a fan attacked the referee.
The two sides were locked at 17-17 early in the second half when a fan wearing a Springbok shirt ran on to the field and tackled Irish referee David McHugh.