Most people watching Harlequins’ demolition of Worcester last Friday evening would have seriously questioned Chris Brooker’s decision to switch his rehabilitation from a career-threatening knee injury from the Stoop to Sixways.
Quite simply Conor O’Shea’s men ran Warriors ragged and while the 37-13 scoreline was wide enough, in truth it merely hinted at the disparity between the top and the bottom of the Aviva Premiership.
It would have been difficult not to have felt envious at the pace, breadth and skill of England internationals like Mike Brown, Chris Robshaw, Danny Care, Ugo Monye. But then Brooker’s vantage point is different to virtually everyone else’s.
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The former England Saxons hooker has been to darker places and explored deeper recesses than anyone in either club and after spending the last year-and-a-half recovering from a dislocated knee, has therefore earned the right to pick and choose.
After all, when he lay on the turf in Newcastle in March last year and physios literally tried to put his leg back together, it seemed the biggest question had already been answered for him.
“When I first did it, basically it was said it was career-ending by more than one person,” the 27-year-old recalls. “They couldn’t relocate it on the pitch. They have to keep an eye on the blood circulation, the vessels, in case you lose the leg. I went in [to hospital], got knocked out and they relocated and the next day it was pretty much game over. They had never seen anything like it before.
“When I got transferred from Newcastle back down to London I saw a surgeon who said ‘I am not going to lie to you, if you come back from this it’s pretty much a miracle’.
“He did the operation, he said all went well but he couldn’t tell me I’d play again or never would.”
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That was just the beginning. Brooker spent the next two months unable to get out of bed. That meant his fashion-stylist girlfriend and publican parents had to juggle their work commitments to be at Brooker’s beck and call. It was four months before he was even able to put any weight through the joint.
After that he had to relearn how to walk and then run – all the while facing mental demons every bit as painful as the more obvious physical challenges.
“I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, going through the same as what I did. It was pretty horrific, I have never felt anything like it in my life.”
Indeed even after a year of fighting his way back the Bristolian was still unsure whether he wanted to return to the sport. Until Worcester and Richard Hill came calling and offered him the chance of a fresh start.
“If I had stayed at Harlequins it probably would have been worse for me,” he claims. “I am like a ghost here, no-one knows who I am or what I was before, but at Harlequins I was in an environment where everyone knew my injury, it would have been brought up more and it would have kept circling and circling around.
“Here, it’s like I have come here to play rugby, your knee’s fine and just get on and play. It’s helped my mindset in a way to just crack on with it and move on.
“I have had a long enough time out of the game to think if I wanted to come back or not. I have chosen to come back so I can’t sit here dwelling on the past or what might have been.”
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His first tentative steps back on to the field came in an A League game with Gloucester, a week later he played 50 minutes at Northampton and a third will follow on Monday against Sale Jets. He has pencilled the Amlin Challenge Cup matches with Oyonnax and Sale Sharks as potential return games. It would be a remarkable journey.
“It was a decision to give it another go or look after my body and say ‘Do I want to walk when I am 50?’ I am happy I have done what I have done. It’s a second chance me and I’ll take it with two hands.
“I’d be more concerned about changing Harlequins for Worcester if I had been playing regularly and I hadn’t have got injured but having been out for so long it’s quite exciting for me. I know people will say you have gone from Quins to 12th in the league but I think Worcester are very under-estimated and I think this year it will be a different kettle of fish.
“It’s a professional outfit, the boys are all heads down, crack on, they want to play and the coaching staff are the same.”
But no-one wants to play, nor has earned the right to, quite as much as Chris Brooker. There will be no hand-outs from Dean Ryan, though. Ed Shervington is very much the man in possession, and he is backed up by Nick Seymour. And the picture will become even more cluttered in a couple of weeks when Augustin Creevey, arrives from international duty. No-one said it would be easy.