"My ligaments have been repaired and the surgery went well. But I also damaged a nerve which controls the foot and I've got what is known as dropped foot so we have to wait and see how it heals," Edmonds explained.
He must have told this story at least a dozen times as fans checked on on his well-being while he was sitting on the sideline at Anderson Park on Saturday in his role as forwards coach with the Progressive Meats Havelock North premier team.
"They want to know what happened and most of them didn't realise the extent of the injury. I don't know if I will play again, but I will if possible."
The surgery was carried out by Dr Andrew Vincent in Christchurch. The Highlanders doctor and physio check on his progress every fortnight and Magpies physio Mark Nicol helps him when required.
The manner in which he is dealing with the injury must be admired in the way his playing feats have been in recent seasons.
"I'm looking upon this as a paid holiday. At times like this you take the negatives and positives ... and there are lots of positives. I'm spending lots of time with my 15-month-old son Benson and at weekends I'm able to sit back and relax with family," Edmonds said.
He is enjoying his new role with the villagers and sees it as "an opportunity to give something back to the boys."
Saturday's 40-9 loss to Taradale was a tough introduction for Edmonds. His engine room was up against a big pack.
"I thought we were in with a chance until about the 65th minute. A couple of yellow cards proved costly and we also had a red at the end. We haven't got the biggest pack in the comp so we just have to play a bit smarter ... if we want to compete with the good teams we have to adapt our plans to suit," Edmonds said.
The Central Hawke's Bay College product believed it was too early to discount the Highlanders chances of retaining their Super Rugby title in his absence.
"There are players down there who can replace the injured players and the team remains just as strong. It was a hard game on Friday night but we still played well," he said referring to the 27-20 loss to the Hurricanes in Wellington.
"We have lost four games but the most of those have been by a couple or five points. We will still be there at the business end," Edmonds warned.
It's also too early to discount the chances of Edmonds playing again. This bloke is determined and if there's a way he will pursue it.
This time next year expect to see him trotting out for the villagers. They will be stronger than they were at the weekend too.
In fact, expect to see some vast improvement from their forwards within the next fortnight too ... Edmonds won't be wasting time with his latest assignment. Like the Highlanders, the villagers have too much quality ammunition not to be there at semifinal time.
