Toby Rudolf, a Sharks enforcer, has turned to an unexpected medical specialist in an attempt to rehabilitate a troublesome toe injury that has plagued his 2023 season.
Rudolf was sidelined for three months and required surgery after suffering a sprain between his big toe and foot, also known as ‘turf toe’.
He returned to the field in July, but the pain persisted, particularly when he ran and his toe bent while pushing off to sprint.
Rudolf has reportedly been limited to walking during pre-season and is working with the Australian Ballet’s head physiotherapist to correct his injury.
“I’ve got turf toe but it’s the extreme end of it and my joint (at the base of my big toe) is just staying angry,” Rudolf said to AAP.
“I’ve been sent to see the head physiotherapist at the Australian Ballet … 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.
“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’.
“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, although it sounds weird I love going through that hardship.”
The Australian Ballet’s medical team are accustomed to toe injuries due to the pressure on the feet of the country’s best ballerinas.
Rudolf also revealed he’d given up drinking in a bid to be fit and firing come the season’s start, recently putting pen to paper on a two-year extension with the Sharks.
“I think I speak for most of the team when I say we need to go on a drinking ban,” he said.
“I’m going all in this year, no drinking. I told Fitzy 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.”
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