McCabe confident of playing again

Editor

Injured Wallaby Pat McCabe is confident he will make a full recovery the neck injury sustained in the first Test against the Lions.

Injured Wallaby Pat McCabe is confident he will make a full recovery the neck injury sustained in the first Test against the British and Irish Lions.

The Brumbies centre has broken his neck twice since November 2012 but aims to return to action in next year's opening round of the Super Rugby competition.

The double injury setback almost ended his career and meant that he had to spend almost five of the past 10 months in a neck brace.

But the 25-year-old is determined to recover and believes his neck will be ''stronger than ever''.

He has lost five kilograms since the latest injury but is out of his neck brace and was given permission to start running last week and will join the Brumbies for pre-season training.

“In the past three or four years I've kind of just being doing enough to get myself ready and pre-season has been interrupted by injury or Wallabies,'' McCabe told the Canberra Times.

''This time I'll be ready to go.”

Surgeons and specialists have told him his neck will be stronger this time.

''My goal is to just try to play well for the Brumbies … I haven't spoken to [Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie], so I will just do what I can for the Brumbies and see what happens.''

McCabe first broke his neck on Australia's end-of-year tour to Europe last year. He injured his hamstring and knee in his comeback before breaking his neck again against the Lions in June.

And during that time, his Brumbies team-mate Christian Lealiifano has become the Wallabies' first-choice inside centre.

McCabe will have to fight for a place in the Brumbies back-line who finished as Super Rugby runners-up this year.

''I'll have a scan once every two months just to make sure it's healing well and how well it heals will determine how much I can do and how quickly,'' McCabe said.

''So far so good. I'll build into contact training at the start of next year with a vision of playing in trial games and being available for selection in round one next year.''