Pies star opens up on ‘traumatic’ arm injury

Star Collingwood defender Jeremy Howe has revealed the true extent of his broken arm, admitting he questioned whether the injury would prematurely end his football career.

Howe suffered the injury in round one, following a mid-air collision with opponent Tyson Stengle during the Pies’ 22-point win over the Cats.

The 32-year-old landed awkwardly on his left arm after putting his body on the line to spoil the ball and immediately appeared in distress.

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After spending three months on the sidelines recovering from four bouts of surgery, Howe is now available for selection for Collingwood’s clash with Adelaide on Sunday.

Collingwood coach Craig McRae described Howe’s x-ray as “a cartoon picture” after the scan revealed three separate breaks in his arm and a compound fracture.

Howe confessed he at times doubted whether he could come back from the injury.

“Yeah, I think [I had doubts about returning to footy]. Given how traumatic the incident was, the conversations start with long term,” he told Fox Footy’s AFL 360.

“What could potentially be long-term effects with recovery and getting full function with my hand? I’m 32 and having conversations about not using my hand properly, it’s pretty scary.

“Even my little finger has taken the longest to recover. I tried to tape it up but I couldn’t hold a footy properly or mark properly.

“Then you start questioning — when you’re not eligible to do things you used to be required to do — then you’re like, well, maybe I can’t [get back].”

Howe said he had put together a “really good” block of training over the last month and a half, but was unsure whether he would return through the senior side or the VFL given his extended time on the sidelines.

“If you come and watch us train the last two weeks, you’d just think I’m a part of it,” he said.

“I’ve been in full training and match sim. I’m getting tackled by blokes like Beau McCreery — I don’t think there are too many guys who tackle better than him.”

Initially after suffering the injury, Howe said his top priority was regaining full function of his hand to be able to complete his responsibilities as a husband and father.

“Even when I got out [of the hospital], I’d hold a coffee mug, but I had no feeling in my hand, so I couldn’t tell whether I was picking it up or not,” he said.

“The sensitivity and nerves in my hand were so damaged that it was hard to do the simple things.

“But my thought process was instantly drawn to my wife and son. If I’m not capable to be a husband or if I’m not able to be a dad properly — like pick him up — I couldn’t do that, that was probably the thing that rattled me the most.

“Once you slowly start jumping through a few hoops and start ticking a few boxes off and start feeling healthy and fit again — and we’re potentially one week out from me playing again.

“It does turn relatively quickly, but you have some challenges along the way that probably make you question whether you can [return].”

The second-placed Magpies could also regain Jamie Elliott (shoulder) from their injury list for this weekend’s match at the MCG, as the side looks to rebound from their King’s Birthday defeat by the Demons.

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