{"id":354751,"date":"2023-12-20T23:51:52","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T00:51:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=354751"},"modified":"2023-12-21T02:02:26","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T02:02:26","slug":"unlikely-source-helping-sharks-heros-extreme-injury-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=354751","title":{"rendered":"Unlikely source helping Sharks hero's 'extreme' injury battle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cronulla Sharks<\/a> prop Toby Rudolf has turned to an unlikely source to help rehabilitate a problematic toe injury that plagued his 2023 NRL<\/a> campaign.<\/p>\n

Despite undergoing surgery on his 'turf toe' in April<\/a>, Rudolf continued to battle the painful symptoms upon his return in July.<\/p>\n

"It's the extreme end of it and my joint is just staying angry," Rudolf told AAP.<\/p>\n

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Turf toe is sprain in the joint between the big toe and the foot, suffered when the toe bends upwards further than it should, like when an athlete pushes off on a sprint, or if the toe gets jammed in the ground in a tackle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Sharks<\/p>\n

In Rudolf's case, it's resulted in severe ligament damage. He played the first five rounds of the 2023 season, before missing three months of football to have surgery.\ufeff<\/p>\n

In an effort to keep the inflammation on his toe to a minimum, Rudolf has been restricted to just walking laps of Shark Park or riding a stationary exercise bike while his teammates endure brutal pre-season training sessions in a hot Sydney summer.<\/p>\n

But he's now working with a specialist from a field that shares little DNA with rugby league in an effort to find a cure once and for all.<\/p>\n

"I've been sent to see the head physiotherapist at the Australian Ballet \u2026 I'm not expecting magic hands but hopefully she can let us know where we're going with our program and hopefully she says we're on the right track," he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Due to how much time they spend balanced on the very tip of their big toe, ligament and tendon injuries are common in ballerinas' feet.<\/p>\n

While Rudolf said the extreme heat meant he sometimes didn't mind being on the sidelines, he's aware he's missing out on crucial bonding time with teammates.<\/p>\n

"A couple of sessions where it's 40 degrees Celsius, I don't mind being on the sideline shouting, 'Go on boys, you've got this'," he said.<\/p>\n

"But in all seriousness, that's where you build your connection and trust as a team, going through the hurt locker is how you get closer.<\/p>\n

"Although it sounds weird, I love going through that hardship."<\/p>\n

But working with the physio isn't the only change the 27-year-old has made in an effort to be in top condition for round one.<\/p>\n

\"Rugby<\/p>\n

Despite coming about as a drunken Mad Monday promise, Rudolf has followed through on a vow to give up booze.<\/p>\n

"I think I speak for most of the team when I say we need to go on a drinking ban," he said.<\/p>\n

"I'm going all in this year, no drinking. I told Fitzy (coach Craig Fitzgibbon) on Mad Monday when I was full of liquid courage, but I stand by that and I told him that because I want to be held accountable.<\/p>\n

"I'm 28 next year so that's not a lot of time left \u2026 It's now or never for me and I said the team deserves to have the best version of me."<\/p>\n

The Sharks will get their 2024 campaign underway in New Zealand against the Warriors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cronulla Sharks prop Toby Rudolf has turned to an unlikely source to help rehabilitate a problematic toe injury that plagued his 2023 NRL campaign. Despite […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":354753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354751"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=354751"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354751\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":354757,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354751\/revisions\/354757"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/354753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=354751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=354751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=354751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}