Ian Laybourn: Dureau delighted to get all-clear after life-threatening blow

The Catalan Dragons’ Australian scrum-half went for an eye test in December, worrying that he was in need of glasses, and ended up being rushed into hospital with a tumour.

Within four days, he was having surgery and was at his wit’s end wondering if he would even come out of hospital.

Last week, the 26-year-old Dureau was given the news he never dared to dream about, that the latest scans showed he was clear to resume his career, and he was able to relax and talk freely about his health scare.

“I went back home for Christmas,” he recalled. “I’d been having a few migraines and headaches but I thought it was something to do with my eyes.

“My auntie works at an optometrist and I went to see her. They noticed a bit of a shadow behind my eye and we went to get that checked.

“The scan revealed the tumour and I was straight in the car to hospital. It was a pretty dark few days. I didn’t sleep too much.

“I definitely feared for my life initially and then for my career after that.

“It was pretty frightening. You think you might need some glasses and you end up four days in hospital.

“I probably didn’t feel comfortable until I met with the actual surgeon, Dr Charlie Teo, on the first of January.

“He operated the next day and he was 100 per cent confident that he could remove the tumour and that I could go back to leading a full life playing rugby.

“Thankfully, now everything has turned out really well. I’ve got a full bill of health and I can be back on the field soon.”

Dureau, who made a big impression in his first two seasons in Perpignan and was named in the Super League Dream Team both years, returned to France in early March but was unable to take a full part in training until now.

He will gradually build his fitness and hopes to be pulling on the red and gold of the Catalans in either late May or early June.

“I’ve been doing a bit of light duties, a few things in the gym just to try to keep the body ticking over,” he said. “Now I’ve been given the green light I can do a fair bit more.

“I’ll get back into training, into full capacity game situations and, if everything goes well, it will be up to me and the staff that watch me in training to decide when I’m 100 per cent.

“The testing I’ve had so far I’ve passed with flying colours and, in a month’s time, we’ll do everything over again and, if I’m still at the same level and training is going well, hopefully I can have that clearance to get back on the park.”

While “over the moon” over the results of the latest scan, Dureau will be monitored by doctors at regular intervals to ensure that the tumour does not return.

“I think there’s probably always that possibility now,” he said. “It’s a bit of an unknown I guess.

“They hope it won’t. It was a very good resection – they got all of it, there’s absolutely nothing left of it – but obviously it grew at some stage in my life and there’s always that possibility that it could come back.

“We’ll keep an eye on things and every 12 months have a scan to make sure that everything’s alright. At this stage, it all looks promising so I couldn’t be happier.”

With team-mates Olivier Elima, Brent Webb and only this week Jason Baitieri all ruled out with long-term injuries, the Dragons will be mightily relieved to get their chief playmaker back but Dureau admits it could take him some time to recapture his old touch.

“I think it might take a few months,” he said. “If I do play again in June, it will be close enough to nine months since my last game, which was the end of September.

“Obviously that’s a fair break but, hopefully, it won’t take me too long to get back into the swing of things.”