New Zealand international Brandon Smith admits he cried when he thought his NRL season had come to an end.
The Melbourne Storm hooker feared the worst after a heavy clash with Manly's Josh Aloai during the opening weekend of the NRL playoffs left him with a severely swollen face.
Initial concerns were of a broken cheekbone, but scans would later confirm no long-term damage to Walsh and he has been cleared to face Penrith this weekend in the preliminary final.
Smith is expected to retain his starting hooker role, before switching to lock on the arrival of State of Origin rake Harry Grant.
"When it happened it hurt but I didn't think I had broken it," Smith says.
"But the physios asked me what the symptoms were and I just said my face is numb.
"They thought that was a clear sign of a fracture.
"I had a little cry in the changing rooms because they'd told me it was broken.
"It wasn't good signs, but I couldn't go out there [on the sidelines], moping around and feeling sorry for myself, the team wouldn't have wanted that.
"I had to just try and stay positive as I could and try to have some impact even though I'm not out there on the field."
The Storm will be near full-strength against the Panthers with x-factor winger Josh Addo-Carr returning from injury for the 2020 Grand Final replay.
Melbourne have had a stellar season as they look to repeat their 2020 success, enjoying a record-equalling 19 match unbeaten run during the campaign and recording the greatest for-and-against record in NRL history.
The Storm hammered the in-form Manly Sea Eagles 40-12 in their opening playoff game, as they hunt a fifth Grand Final appearance in six seasons.
