League: Ex-star tears finger off

Former Brisbane Bronco Terry Matterson lost a digit while coaching the Castleford side. Photo / Getty Images

Terry Matterson wasn't trying to win any hard man of rugby league awards.

But his "get on with it" approach after losing his finger in a freak training accident earned the Castleford Tigers coach plenty of respect this week.

The former Brisbane Broncos and one-game NSW State of Origin player snagged his wedding ring as he jumped a fence to collect a ball and tore his finger off.

The incident happened during his English Super League squad's preparations for a pre-season match against Catalans Dragons in Perpignan, France, last Thursday.

Emergency surgery to re-attach the digit failed and he is left with a stump about half a centimetre long.

"One minute I was climbing a fence looking for a ball, then the next I was looking for my finger," he said.

"I looked around for it on the ground but couldn't find it and then it was a bit of a blur.

"I couldn't climb back so I had to put my hand through the fence for our physio to strap it up. The boys then saw the finger stuck on top of the fence and they put it in ice."

Assistant Andy Hay took over the bulk of coaching duties, but Matterson was on hand to see his team win 14-12 before returning to England on Sunday.

Matterson waited until Monday before speaking publicly about his injury because he "wanted to get on with it".

His reaction may well have been shock because by Wednesday he was feeling pretty sore.

"I'm coming to terms with it now," Matterson told AAP.

"It all happened pretty quickly. I suppose I didn't really take it all in.

"It's more painful now than it has been. I've got a lot of pain-killers but I'm a bit wary of having too many, they don't sit too well.

"The pain is not getting any better. It's getting a bit harder to live with."

The 42-year-old's main concern now is to avoid infection and ensure the wound heals.

But he expects to be fit for Castleford's season opener against Super League champions Leeds on February 5.

"It has been traumatic but a lot worse things happen," Matterson said.

"There's a local kid who lost his life fighting for his country (in Afghanistan), so it puts things in perspective."

Matterson played 156 games for Brisbane, including back to back premierships in 1992 and 1993 before leaving Australia in 1995 to play for the London Broncos, now known as Harlequins.

He became Castleford coach in 2005 and recently signed a new contract to stay at the club for another two years.

Fellow Australian and Castleford fullback Ryan McGoldrick was amazed by Matterson's resilience.

"You would have expected him to yell out in pain after what happened but we didn't hear anything so initially didn't realise how bad it was," McGoldrick told the Daily Mirror.

"He's certainly got the respect of the boys more than ever after this. We won't be complaining about any bumps or bruises."

"I played for so many years and I've been through a fair bit with different injuries and all that, it's part of the make up of a rugby league player," Matterson said.

"I'm not trying to come across as a tough person, but because of what we do ... I played at the top level for 15 years and I was brought up in a rugby league family and you get injured and it's a tough game, rugby league."

Matterson believes his own horrific injury has brought his squad closer together.

"I think the team may get a lot out of this because our senior players have had to step up to the mark and do some extra things in training and a few of them have maybe grown up a bit," he said.

"You find out what people are made of in these types of scenarios. I was proud of how the guys battled on. They were fairly light-hearted to help me. You've got to look at the funny side of it."

The injury carried echoes of Portuguese soccer player Paolo Diogo's misfortune while celebrating a goal for Swiss club Servette against Schaffhausen in 2004.

Diogo caught his wedding ring on the perimeter fencing and not only ripped off the top of his finger but, before noticing the injury, he was booked for excessive celebration.

- AAP cw