![\"Carter](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aff4624c23b44c9bebd6564344c85888870ff7c3b5bbb20d5fef80a332c490e0.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n\u201cI think Foz has more metal than bone in his body, he was definitely a great mentor,\u201d Gordon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the boys were always reaching out, they saw me when I was at my worst and were a little bit worried, but were stoked when I got back into it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The incident, surgery and redemption<\/p>\n
Gordon was one of the standard trainers in his Glitter Strip preseason, only for his life to be thrown into turmoil.<\/p>\n
He remembers running into contact and experiencing some pain down the front of his throat. He didn\u2019t think much of it at the time.<\/p>\n
A week later, another carry changed everything as he was informed a 10-millimetre hole in the dura mater \u2013 the membrane which holds the spinal fluid together and wraps the spinal cord and brain \u2013 had opened. But it took two months to identify where it was in his neck.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first month was the toughest, we didn\u2019t know what it was and how to treat it, and sitting upright and standing up was really painful,\u201d Gordon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got to the stage where I couldn\u2019t really sit up for more than 10 seconds without having splitting headaches.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gordon spent four weeks near motionless laying in bed. When it became apparent it was not healing, he ventured to Perth to discuss his plight with more specialised radiologists.<\/p>\n
That decision fast-tracked his comeback, culminating in an NRL debut before being released by the Titans to return to rugby union.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was special, it was also a little bit daunting because I\u2019d come back so quickly,\u201d Gordon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like the work I put in before my injury put me in a good spot to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Path to the World Cup<\/p>\n
That outing was Gordon\u2019s only chance in the NRL, although he admits he would \u201cnever say never\u201d to returning.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe injury changed a lot, I was a year behind where I wanted to be, and was probably a year behind where the club wanted me to be as well,\u201d Australia\u2019s 2023 Rugby World Cup five-eighth revealed.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Carter Gordon\u2019s Super Rugby return will be complete on Friday night when he lines up for the Queensland Reds against the Highlanders in Brisbane.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a World Cup coming to Australia in \u201927, and it just felt like the right time to come back. If I didn\u2019t have the injury, who knows? It\u2019s a question no one will ever know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gordon was immediately parachuted onto the Wallabies\u2019 Spring Tour upon his release, only to tear his quad, suffer a broken nose, and pick up \u201ca little crack in my wrist\u201d.<\/p>\n
Loading<\/p>\n
His setbacks forced him to miss the Reds season-launching defeat to the Waratahs, but the five-eighth\u2019s comeback will resume against the Highlanders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe spinal fluid leak was probably partly the reason I had all the niggles because I had about six months off any training or footy,\u201d Gordon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving that long off to a 12-week quick turnaround before playing games was probably not a great block to build the body up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gordon\u2019s pedigree likely would have earned him the No.10 jumper at the Brumbies, Waratahs and Force.<\/p>\n