MICHEAL Luck did not bother looking. Sure it hurt, but this Warriors hardman had work to do.

"I'm not about to lie down when there are tackles to make," Luck said. "I had to get up. It was 16-16 and they were on our line."



Unassuming and underrated, Luck will go down in rugby league folklore after getting up and rejoining the defensive line despite suffering one of the game's most gruesome injuries.



With an 18cm gash above his knee that later had his teammates dry-retching and comparing it to a shark attack, the footy warrior limped across field chasing down a kick before being carried off on a stretcher.



"I went in to make a tackle [on Anthony Watmough] and his boot must have hit my leg," Luck said.



"I felt some pain but didn't think much of it."



At first Luck thought it was a cork. His leg burned above the knee and it failed to respond when he heaved it away from the ruck, leaving him to drag his boot along the ground as Watmough stayed down waiting for his trainer.



But as he ran back to defend his line, he put his hand down to feel the pain and almost lost his finger.



"I just went to rub it," Luck said. "You know, rub it like it was a cork, and then my finger sunk into it and I thought 'eeew'.



"I didn't realise how bad it was. Until I looked at it I just thought it was a cork.



"Once we had that break in play I realised how bad it was.



"Our trainers and the Manly trainers were brilliant: they were straight on there and they had me back in the Manly sheds and then in the ambulance pretty quick."



Luck doesn't know how much blood he lost. Doesn't know how many stitches he got either after spending two nights in Royal North Shore Hospital. But that is part of the appeal of this no-nonsense tacking machine from North Queensland, who doesn't need a badge to prove how tough he is.



"I haven't unwrapped it yet and I didn't ask about the blood loss," Luck said.



"I had surgery Sunday and I've kept it wrapped.



"I probably lost a bit I'd say, but it didn't matter."



Luck has no issues with Watmough or the cleats that opened him up. There were suggestions yesterday that the referees may have failed in their duty to check players' boots before the match, but Luck was having none of it.



"Nothing like that," Luck said. "It was just a freak accident. One in a million."



Luck is hopeful of returning to the field this year as the Warriors charge toward the finals but isn't sure when.



"No idea," he said.



"I didn't speak to the surgeon. As soon as I was conscious I jumped on a plane and came back to Auckland. I'll have to wait and see how the injury heals."





Originally published as Is Luck the toughest man in league?