I will play again - Leeds Rhinos star winning fight back to fitness

Robinson was hurt scoring her third try in Rhinos’ Betfred Women’s Super League fixture against York City Knights at Weetwood Sports Park last August.

The game was abandoned and Robinson had to cancel a planned six-month trip to Australia as she began the long haul back to fitness.

She is now running and has pledged to play again, but admitted the mental side or her recovery has been as important as physical conditioning.

“I was allowed to run a few weeks ago,” Robinson confirmed. “My ankle is fine, I’ve just had a little niggle in my knee which I am dealing with at the minute.

“I am not sure when I’ll be able to play, I think it just depends on getting back into training and getting up to match fitness.

“Hopefully I may, potentially, get in a couple of games, but it’s about making sure I am right physically and mentally before I can play again."

Having the confidence to step back on the field is a barrier Robinson knows she needs to cross.

“For me, the biggest thing I am going to have to get over is the mental side,” she said.

“The physical side, for me, is the easy part. I am still not mentally at the stage where I want to put myself in a position to play yet, but I have been speaking to a sports psychologist and implementing that into my re-hab’.

“I think people don’t realise it’s not just physical, you have the mental side as well and for me that is the hard part to overcome, but hopefully we will get there.”

Robinson’s injury was one every rugby player dreads. A fractured tibia and fibula and dislocated ankle, it came as a savage blow to a player known for her speed and agility.

“Everything I could do to it, I did,” recalled the centre/winger. “It has been really hard. At one point, when I went travelling, I didn’t think I’d come back to play again.

“For me, it has been difficult picturing myself playing again, but I want to play again and to prove to myself I can. I’ve just got a few more barriers I have to overcome, but hopefully - in time - I will get there.”

Robinson, 23, joined Rhinos from Stanningley and played in the 2018 and 2019 Challenge Cup final wins over Castleford Tigers.

She scored seven tries in 11 appearances before the injury had had hoped to play for a team in Melbourne during her trip Down Under.

“I was meant to go three weeks after when I broke it,” she said. “I went travelling in December and January, to Asia for a few months, just to see what I wanted to do.

“I came back and I am working at the minute, saving up. I want to go travelling out there again in the next year or two. One day I will get there.”

Robinson was a non-playing member of Rhinos squad last October when they shocked league leaders Castleford again in a pulsating Grand Final at St Helens.

Women’s Super League was suspended in March, due to coronavirus, just two weeks before Rhinos were due to begin their title defence.

Since then, Leeds’ players - under new coach Lois Forsell - have been training alone in the hope a shortened season will take place.

“Hopefully we can go back to some normality soon,” Robinson said. “We do regular Zoom sessions, just to keep in touch. All the girls have had really good strength and conditioning programs sent out to them.

“We all log it on an app so we can all see what each other’s doing and keep each other accountable.

“I think it encourages each other to try and improve their score, seeing everyone else’s.”

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