Panthers co-captain Isaah Yeo thought his season was over when he ruptured a pectoral muscle in New Zealand last month, but he has defied medical history to not only return but to also thrive in one of the most remarkable comebacks we’ve seen.
Yeo suffered the injury against the Warriors in August while making a tackle, with most experts confident that his season was over.
But he was back playing just four weeks later, with Yeo making 50 tackles with zero misses in two games off the bench against the Tigers and Roosters.
“Probably just with how it felt, and then what you hear in that space (I thought my season was over),” he said after Sunday’s qualifying win at CommBank Stadium.
“But there’s probably more credit to the surgeon because he gave us a glimmer of hope that we can just have a look and see how it pulls up and then go from there.
“The physios have been outstanding for me, they were really excited for the challenge as well, and they’ve given me a lot of confidence in that space, so I’m really happy.”
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary spoke to the NewsWire during the week and was amazed by what he saw from the representative lock forward during his rehab.
“I think he’s maybe like an octopus. Can they lose an arm and just carry on? It’s pretty incredible what he’s been able to do,” Cleary said.
“It says a lot about his courage, but also how process driven he is. He took in all the information when the scan came back and listened to the physios and the doctors and took it all in.
“It’s extraordinary mental skill and resilience.”
You wouldn’t have known about the injury if you watched him play, with the mental demons from his return game long gone.
“That was probably more last week. Getting through last week, that was the goal,” he said.
“I had probably a month to try to figure out what I was going to do, and then the Tigers game I wanted to make sure that I didn’t go and let the team down by going out for a couple of tackles and having to put my hand up in a final.
“Knowing I could get through that game was nice, but then like I said, it felt better again today, so I’m really pleased.”
Sunday’s win means the Panthers have the week off and have now qualified for their seventh preliminary final in a row.
It’s an extraordinary achievement by a club that lost countless stars over the years but has found a way to remain dominant thanks to their core of Yeo, Nathan Cleary, Dylan Edwards, Liam Martin and Moses Leota.
They will face the winner of the match between the Warriors and the Knights in a couple of weeks, with Cleary proud of his troops for keeping the streak alive when their players weren’t rested in the final rounds.
“There’s nothing like sitting back and watching your opponents go at it the next week as well,” he said.
“We’ll just rest a bit and get some preparation done that you can’t usually from a week to week basis. It’s much needed and very well earned by the boys.”
Originally published as ‘That was the goal’: Isaah Yeo achieves incredible feat after overcoming an injury that should have ended his season