SEB Stegmann admits there were times during his two-year injury nightmare when he thought he would never play rugby again.
The Harlequins wing snapped the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee towards the end of the 2008-09 season, which earned him an initial 10 months on the sidelines.
But it became a double blow when the youngster, tipped as a hot prospect when he broke through as an 18-year-old in 2007, suffered the same injury in a training session the week before he was due to make his comeback.
The long road recovery finally ended in the Premiership win at Worcester last month, when Stegmann, now 22, played his first game in two years.
He has since shown glimmers of the form which initially saw him tipped for stardom, but really announcedhis return with a hat-trick of tries in Friday’s LV=Cup win at Sale Sharks.
Stegmann said: “Being out for that long really made me doubt myself. There were some darks moments when I was left thinking ‘what’s the point?’ and wondering if I would ever get back to where I was. Pretty much every other week I would go to that dark place.
“But the support from my team-mates kept me going. I wasn’t playing, but I was in at training every day, and everybody was really supportive. I was also living with Rory Clegg and Tom Casson, so they would keep my spirits up.
“The hope that I would get back to where I was kept me going too, and knowing Conor O’Shea had always been an advocate of me was a real boost. Mark Mapletoft also kept telling me if I can get back to where I was, I’d be flying.
“I’m not sure if I’m there yet, and hopefully there’s still a lot more still to come from me. After the Worcester game I had a little emotional moment to myself, but during the game I was just buzzing from being back.”
Now back in the fold amongst Quins’ next crop of promising players, who have been blooded in the LV= Cup, Stegmann almost feels like a veteran now.
He added: “Lads like Joe Trayfoot and Charlie Matthews have come in for these cup games and fronted up really well, keeping our unbeaten run going as we head back into the league against Exeter on Saturday.
“That was my first hat-trick for Quins, and the most pleasing aspect is it was against a stronger Sale team than they brought to our place. We had quite a young squad out but still managed to do a job, which shows our strength in depth.”
The Exeter game has been designated ladies’ day at The Stoop, in aid of Breast Cancer Awareness. Visit www.quins.co.uk for more details.
