19-03-2025
Thomas Flegler in startling admission about NRL future after 'worrying' drama
Dolphins forward Thomas Flegler says he still does not know exactly when he'll play in the NRL again but insists he will "definitely come back" at some point. The former Maroons forward hasn't played since round five last year when he sustained nerve damage to his left shoulder against the Tigers and there have been concerns he may never play again after a series of complications for the luckless prop.
Flegler waited five months after first sustaining the injury before it became clear that the nerve was not going to heal naturally and he would have to go under the knife. So the 25-year-old underwent nerve transfer surgery in September but the recovery has been painfully slow and hopes he might be right for the start of this season quickly evaporated.
While progress has been incremental, it has also been positive for Flegler, despite the Dolphins star admitting that the nature and uncertainty around the injury has been "worrying". Breaking his silence on his injury ordeal on the Inside Ball podcast, Flegler admitted that he may not return to the field for the Dolphins this year, but insists his NRL career is far from over.
'I'm confident I will come back,' Flegler said on the Inside Ball podcast. 'I will be back next year, I could be back this year, I don't know. I'm taking it month by month at the moment. I will definitely come back, but it is worrying. When you do an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) or have a shoulder reco, you know it's either six or nine months (recovery), give or take a month here and there.
"You can see a progression the whole way, but with nerve damage, the progression is minimal, it's very slow. Everything is unknown to the point where I don't know exactly when I'm going to be back.' Flegler says the only other player he knows with a similar injury is Moses Leota and he's used the premiership-winning Panthers prop as a source of inspiration.
"The only player that has got a similar injury to this is Moses Leota who wears a big pad on his shoulders," he said. Flegler has played 100 NRL games and represented the Maroons and Australia, and his absence has been acutely felt for both his club and state.
The 25-year-old concedes that the nerve transfer surgery he undertook was a "last resort", highlighting the concerns many have had about the rampaging forward's career. But Flegler said after the initial injury did not improve as he and the medical specialists had hoped, he was left with little choice.
"Once you have the nerve transplant that is last resort," he added. "Sometimes it can come back naturally. We tried that and unfortunately it didn't so I had a nerve transplant. They went down to my tricep, pulled a nerve up to my deltoid and sewed it together. It has started to heal."
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Flegler is still heavily involved at Dolphins training sessions and his mindset has been a huge boost to his teammates, even if he finds it hard to watch games and not be involved. 'I do have strength (in his shoulder). It is getting there. It is starting to improve, but it is very small steps. If you saw me train, you would have no idea I'm injured. Hopefully I'm back soon.'
