NZ Warriors half Ronald Volkman has revealed he played through a compound fracture in Friday's win over Canterbury Bulldogs in Sydney.
The 20-year-old said he saw bone split through his finger during the first half of the 24-12 Warriors victory during an attempted tackle on Bulldogs half Matt Burton but grit his teeth and played through the pain.
He chose not to receive a painkiller injection during halftime as his finger was already numb, eventually going on to score the match-sealing try when he regathered his own grubber to dart over next to the posts in the 68th minute.
Volkman will undergo a surgical cleanout this weekend but hopes to be available to play in the team's next game after their upcoming bye week against Brisbane Broncos in Napier on May 27.
"It was just in the mess of a tackle," Volkman told AAP.
"I looked at my hand and it started bleeding. The bone came out, but I didn't want to look at it.
"I just strapped it back up, it's all good."
Earlier this season, Melbourne Storm half Cam Munster played through a similar injury in the opening round of the NRL season. He missed two weeks of action after surgery revealed further damage.
"I was thinking about one of my one of my mates, Jazz Tevaga," he told AAP, referring to teammate Tevaga.
"My whole rehab he was just talking about me being tough and not being a little [sook]. All I thought about was what would Jazz do.
"It was pretty numb [at half-time]. I just strapped it straight up and went straight out."
In other Warriors injury news, forward Mitchell Barnett will likely return to training this week after a lengthy absence due to a neck injury suffered back in round three.
