Bulls Purtell given all-clear
Bradford Bulls have been given a major boost ahead of the new season with the news that Adrian Purtell has been given the all clear to resume his Rugby League career.
Purtell suffered a Heart Attack in the Magic Weekend game against Leeds Rhinos in May and has not featured since. He has been undergoing treatment whilst doing modified training but a visit to the Specialist in London on Wednesday brought the news that Purtell and the Bulls were hoping for. He will now be able to start full training as the Bulls head towards the new season and can resume playing in early March.
Adrian admits that it was an emotional day: “I didn’t know what to expect really and I was in shock when the Specialist gave me the news. It didn’t really sink in until I was on the train coming home but I am obviously delighted. I felt myself that I’d be ok because I have been doing some training and felt good but I am not a medical person so it was pretty awesome to get that news from such an eminent Specialist. I had the mentality of ‘hope for the best- prepare for the worst’ so it was tremendous to have such a positive outcome. I am just looking forward now to getting back into full time training and playing games with my mates. That’s what I want to do most of all. Last year was a tough one for the Bulls but the boys all bonded together and stuck by me and the club has been absolutely tremendous throughout.”
Bulls Coach Francis Cummins is delighted with the news: “It’s great for us because we have got one of our star players back but for Adrian it’s an amazing piece of news because we weren’t even sure whether he would be able to live a normal life let alone play again. It’s a very tight group here and Adrian is a big part of that so the whole squad are absolutely delighted for him. It’s almost like having a new player with us and, although he can’t do everything yet, he will be able to start his pre season now. It has obviously been a very traumatic time for him, especially as the day when he got his results drew near but he can now carry on with his career and, knowing him like I do, I am sure he will be determined to make a success of it once again.”