Warrington Wolves' Marc Sneyd opens up about fractured eye socket ahead of Challenge Cup final
Marc Sneyd has detailed how he returned to play just 16 days after fracturing his eye socket; he made it back in time to assist his side Warrington Wolves with getting to the Challenge Cup final at Wembley.
Wednesday 14 May 2025 15:57, UK
Warrington's Marc Sneyd "couldn't feel" his cheekbone after a clash resulted in facial fractures, but now has his sights set on the Challenge Cup final.
In Wolves' game on April 24 against St Helens, half-back Sneyd suffered from a collision in a tackle, resulting in a fractured cheekbone and eye socket.
After undergoing surgery, Sneyd made a sensational return for their Challenge Cup semi-final - kicking nine of his side's points in a 21-14 victory - and with surgical plates in his face he had become a literal man of steel.
- Magic Weekend talking points: Wakey make waves, ref questions, Saints under pressure
- Super League fixtures 2025 - every game live on Sky
- Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with NOW
- Choose the Sky Sports push notifications you want!
"It was a weird one, I don't normally pick up that many injuries especially when it comes to contact injuries," Sneyd said.
"So when I hit the deck I just felt my face, I couldn't feel my cheekbone.
"So I came off and the doctor was like 'you've done your eye socket'. Did my eye socket, did my cheekbone, both of them.
"Luckily enough we've got Doug here, the doctor, and he managed to get me in the hospital that night, prepped and ready for him to do the surgery the next day.
"So I was pretty much in and out, looked after, sorted and on the mend two days later."
The 34-year-old hadn't realised initially that surgical plates and a rod had needed to be fitted in his face due to being "zoned out".
But with less than two weeks until the semi-final, and after talking to the team doctor and physios, it was down to Sneyd to decide when he was ready to return.
"Obviously with having the surgery the structure of my face is absolutely fine, it didn't need as much time to heal," Sneyd said.
"It was just all about managing the pain as best I could.
"So yeah once I got to a stage, we took it day to day, speaking to Sam [Burgess - head coach] day to day being like yeah I'm not sure, I'm not sure, I'm not sure.
"But then there was a point where I was like I'll train, see how we go, got through training and kind of just went from there.
"A decision got made and I was there [at the game]."
But returning to play wasn't simple as Sneyd had to battle against the urge to avoid collisions and tackling.
Burgess reassured him it was human nature after an injury like his, so Sneyd went back as soon as possible to reassure himself and all those around him.
Warrington will play Hull KR in the Betfred Challenge Cup semi-final on June 7 in a triple header at Wembley Stadium.
