MATHEW Begbie has reflected on just how close a freak football accident came to robbing him of his ability to walk.
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The 22-year-old is back home in Ballarat on the road to recovery after breaking his neck during round one of the Central Highlands Football League season on April 9.
Begbie was playing for the Beaufort seniors against Daylesford when a knock to the head fractured one of his vertebrae and dislocated another.
He was taken to hospital - where he had surgery - and must spend the next three months in a neck brace as his injuries heal.
“It’s hard to process being in a neck brace and breaking your neck after a week, but everything is going really well, everyone’s been really supportive, so I’m very fortunate that I’ve come out knowing that I’ll get better,” Begbie said.
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Despite feeling some pins and needles, Begbie said he didn’t think there was anything too seriously wrong with him after the clash and admitted he actually walked off the ground.
He feels mixed emotions about the incident, which is now the subject of a league investigation.
Begbie said a “couple of millimeters either way” and things could have been much more serious.
“I think (I’m) definitely lucky in the sense that these things do happen and to be able to walk and not be in a worse position than what I am now, I definitely see myself as lucky,” he said.
“I suppose you are slightly unlucky because it’s not common, but I think I’m just fortunate that I know that I’ll get better.”
Begbie said he held no grudges in relation to the incident, but believed there could be increased awareness about how dangerous it can be when a player has their head over the ball.
It has been a tough recent period for the talented sportsman, who was hospitalised with viral encephalitis following his return from a season playing cricket in England.
