Nigel Plum costs the panthers $1.5 k a year in tape, we've found the secret that finally made him half ok #TapeMan pic.twitter.com/yCDZYIEME9
— Mitch Doyle (@mitchdoyle08) August 10, 2014 This Australian rugby league player has more injuries than you can imagine
What lengths would you go to in order to keep doing something you love?
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Nigel Plum is an Australian rugby player for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL and regarded as one of the hardest hitters in the sport. His list of injuries is incomprehensible.
The Sydney Morning Herald ran a story on the 31-year-old second rower who costs his team $1,500 a year in athletic tape alone. That’s right. It’s not uncommon to hear of career-ending injuries in any sport, but Plum has had scores of body parts broken while playing the game and he keeps coming back for more.
This list is staggering.
- 10 concussions.
- Fractured sternoclavicular joint, which causes neck pain.
- Two shoulder reconstructions.
- Supraspinatus tendonitis.
- Labral tears of his shoulder.
- Dislocated and broken finger, which required joint replacement surgery.
- Damaged ligaments in two fingers.
- Torn MCL.
- Arthritis in knee, which can’t be treated by anti-inflammatories because Plum has Crohn’s disease.
- Meniscus removed from both knees on three separate occasions.
- Bone spurs removed from both ankles, with further surgery planned this offseason.
- Arthroscopic surgery on his elbow.
Despite all this, Plum has 399 tackles on the season.
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