Returning Brumby Jesse Mogg has revealed the extent of his 651-day injury horror, which defined the back end of his six-year rugby stint in France.
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But the former Wests speedster says he is back to full fitness, and will be pushing as hard as he can for Tom Banks' fullback jersey next season after signing a two-year deal to re-ignite his Super Rugby career at the Brumbies.
The former Wallaby left the capital in 2015 and has spent six season playing in the top tier of France, with Montpellier and then with Section Paloise in Pau.
But he managed barely 20 matches in three years for Pau, after a misdiagnosed tibia injury sidelined Mogg for almost two years.
"One day I just got up and I had a sore tibia, just like shin splints or someone kicked you in the shin, and it just started from there," Mogg said.
"I ended up having four surgeries to get it fixed. The original problem was a small benign tumour just inside the bone.
"They burned out the tumour just through a needling process. Then the bone didn't consolidate as we wanted to so I had a bone graft."
Mogg thought the problem had been solved, and he returned to training only to realise his nightmare was just getting started.
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"The bone graft took really well, but the bone quality wasn't the greatest so I went back to training, I felt pretty good and then one day I just went to kick a ball and my leg snapped," Mogg said.
"I got a rod put in the bone and was coming back from that as well. Then I just sort of had a small pain in the front of my tibia still which bothered me a little bit.
"I ended up finding a specialist who works in Paris and I just explained to him my history. He suggested to get another bone graft, a more intensive one where he bone grafts a whole heap of the tibia, not just the point where it's weak.
"Since then I haven't really had any problems."
Mogg played out the back end of the 2021 season which ended in June, before moving back to Montpellier where he's been training while discussing a possible Brumbies return with coach Dan McKellar. The 32-year-old returns to Australia in September.
"We're really excited to see Jesse back at the Brumbies," McKellar said.
"He made a real impact on the club in his first stint, and he returns as an experienced professional player who has played in some very big games, and that's something we feel will be a valuable addition to our group.
"He's still very quick, has a huge boot, and we believe he will complement our outside backs over the next couple of years."
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
