Cronulla Sharks captain Cameron McInnes is as tough as they come, but even he almost reached boiling point during 2025.
McInnes, revealing to Zero Tackle, gave insight into the extent to which his nerves around his neck and arms were troubling him for months during his 2025 NRL campaign.
He suffered from nerve problems on both sides of his body early in the year, with it persisting throughout until his ACL injury unfortunately ended his season.
"I got a couple of pressed nerves on either side of my arms, early on in the season, after a game, then I just had weakness in the arms, and then some pain for a few months there," he told Zero Tackle.
"I was just trying to hang on, to be honest with you, to the end of the season."
McInnes's hidden battle with the nerve damage goes to show he is as courageous and tough as they come, playing through the pain week-by-week.
Although the Sharks skipper offered a different perspective when it came to his knee injury in Round 24, claiming it was a blessing in disguise for him to undergo both knee and neck surgery and get the issue resolved.
"So I did my knee, which, yeah, it was getting to a point where it would have been hard to play on, so everything happens for a reason, I suppose."
In what is a crazy prospect, if McInnes hadn't injured his knee, he would have played throughout the rest of the year in severe pain, and even potentially risked further damage.
McInnes also revealed the issues with the nerve problems disrupting his training too, saying he was barely able to participate until it was match day, with the pain getting worse as the weeks went by.
"I just had like heaps of weakness, no strength, then the pain started on one side, which was hard when tackling," he added.
"Couldn't really train, but by the game, like sort of got to a point, it wasn't too bad, but I could still feel it.
"It was getting hard, but it's all good now."
He is on-track to return for the Sharks in May, an ideal boost during the Origin-effected period, which may see key members on their side leave for Origin camps.
This includes hooker Blayke Brailey, who was made captain in McInnes's absence, and speculation is mounting that he is the best dummy half moving forward for the New South Wales Blues.
With McInnes recently turning 32-years old and off-contract at the end of this year, he will be looking to give it his all in a strong return after the two major surgeries.
In the meantime, he is rehabilitating nicely and is eager to get back onto the paddock.
"Yeah, the body's good. I obviously had my ACL surgery and then had a fairly decent neck surgery as well."
"So I had a bit of recovery to do, but I'm, yeah, all healed up now and just preparing to play."
McInness joins Ronaldo Mulitalo on the casualty list heading into the 2026 season, with no doubt fans excited to see the duo back out on the field together in the second half of the year.
