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Johnny Mannah On The Verge Of Sharks Return After Fighting Cancer
Johnny Mannah on the verge of Sharks return after fighting cancer
Steve Gee
February 09, 2011 12:00AM
JOHN Mannah never lost faith. Through long hours of chemo and even longer days of recovery, he never wavered in his belief he'd return.
And never mind the NRL's advice to the Sharks to cut the front-rower to ease their salary cap pressures.
Now, 18 months after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, Mannah will make his return to first grade in the Sharks' opening trial game against Manly on Friday night.
A week after Souths front-rower Ben Ross delivered one of the code's most inspirational comeback stories, the 21-year-old will make the next step in his own remarkable recovery.
Mannah was just eight games into his rookie year - and showing the promise that catapulted older brother and Eels prop Tim into the Origin arena - when the life-changing diagnosis came in August 2009. He'd undergone tests to determine why a nagging back injury wasn't healing.
Within days he was locked in the first of 10 rounds of fortnightly chemo that stripped kilos from his 108kg frame and left him housebound at times for up to a week.
But tests revealed he was in remission last February and he returned to football in June, playing out the year in the Sharks' NSW Cup side.
Now, with a full pre-season behind him, Mannah is ready to take the final step back into the NRL. It all starts with the trial against Manly - his first first-grade match in 566 days.
"In my head I always thought it would come," Mannah said. "It was just a matter of time, so now that it's only a few days away I'm just excited. It's a bit of an achievement for me."
Talk about understatement. He has spent the past 12 months working tirelessly to regain the condition he lost during his layoff. It's also meant anxious check-ups every three months - which will soon be extended to every six months and, eventually, every 12 months after his final quarterly screening next week.
It's also meant relying on the benevolence of the Sharks, who refused to heed salary cap chief Ian Schubert's advice to cut him loose to free up funds. Mannah is indebted and desperate to repay the faith.
"I really appreciate the support they showed me," he said. "It makes me want to go out there and do my best to repay them. Although, I don't think there's much I can do to repay them, they've been that good to me. But I'll be doing my best day in day out at training and on the footy field."
Sharks coach Shane Flanagan said Mannah's courage stood as an inspiration to his teammates.
"He doesn't say a lot about his illness; a lot of the boys don't know what he went through," he said. "But anyone who's got family and friends who go through cancer and chemo, they know exactly how tough it is."
Source:http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=...-fighting-cancer/story-e6frfgbo-1226002473967
Attachment: Inspiration... Young Sharks front-rower Johnny Mannah returns. Picture: Krystle Wright Source: The Daily Telegraph
Johnny Mannah on the verge of Sharks return after fighting cancer
Steve Gee
February 09, 2011 12:00AM
JOHN Mannah never lost faith. Through long hours of chemo and even longer days of recovery, he never wavered in his belief he'd return.
And never mind the NRL's advice to the Sharks to cut the front-rower to ease their salary cap pressures.
Now, 18 months after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, Mannah will make his return to first grade in the Sharks' opening trial game against Manly on Friday night.
A week after Souths front-rower Ben Ross delivered one of the code's most inspirational comeback stories, the 21-year-old will make the next step in his own remarkable recovery.
Mannah was just eight games into his rookie year - and showing the promise that catapulted older brother and Eels prop Tim into the Origin arena - when the life-changing diagnosis came in August 2009. He'd undergone tests to determine why a nagging back injury wasn't healing.
Within days he was locked in the first of 10 rounds of fortnightly chemo that stripped kilos from his 108kg frame and left him housebound at times for up to a week.
But tests revealed he was in remission last February and he returned to football in June, playing out the year in the Sharks' NSW Cup side.
Now, with a full pre-season behind him, Mannah is ready to take the final step back into the NRL. It all starts with the trial against Manly - his first first-grade match in 566 days.
"In my head I always thought it would come," Mannah said. "It was just a matter of time, so now that it's only a few days away I'm just excited. It's a bit of an achievement for me."
Talk about understatement. He has spent the past 12 months working tirelessly to regain the condition he lost during his layoff. It's also meant anxious check-ups every three months - which will soon be extended to every six months and, eventually, every 12 months after his final quarterly screening next week.
It's also meant relying on the benevolence of the Sharks, who refused to heed salary cap chief Ian Schubert's advice to cut him loose to free up funds. Mannah is indebted and desperate to repay the faith.
"I really appreciate the support they showed me," he said. "It makes me want to go out there and do my best to repay them. Although, I don't think there's much I can do to repay them, they've been that good to me. But I'll be doing my best day in day out at training and on the footy field."
Sharks coach Shane Flanagan said Mannah's courage stood as an inspiration to his teammates.
"He doesn't say a lot about his illness; a lot of the boys don't know what he went through," he said. "But anyone who's got family and friends who go through cancer and chemo, they know exactly how tough it is."
Source:http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=...-fighting-cancer/story-e6frfgbo-1226002473967
Attachment: Inspiration... Young Sharks front-rower Johnny Mannah returns. Picture: Krystle Wright Source: The Daily Telegraph
