Rugby league player explains the horror injury that saw a corner flag impale his leg

Saddleworth Rangers winger Charlie Mills says he has been stunned by the support he has received after sustaining a freak injury during a game. The 18-year-old scored a try for the Oldham amateur club in the corner during their game against Ince Rose Bridge in the National Conference League Division One on Saturday.

He dived over the line out wide early in the second half to score and bring Rangers back into the game as they trailed 20-6 at half time before eventually losing 32-12. As the apprentice plumber scored the important try, Mills knocked the corner flag over before the spiked end bounced up and, incredibly, became stuck in his leg for several hours.

He was taken to Wrightington Hospital near Wigan where he was treated and spent two nights before returning home to Oldham this evening. In his first interview since the incident, Mills told Rugby League Live: “I think we were 20-6 down early in the second half and then I went over to make it 20-10.

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“I put the ball down the corner and then their winger or full-back booted the flag-pole in anger, which was not a big deal. I carried on running and thought I’d just pulled a muscle or something, but when I went to the barrier at the side of the pitch I saw a six-foot pole hanging out my leg!

“Apart from dieing, it couldn’t really get much worse as an injury. I can’t blame everyone for it really and the pain, to be honest, wasn’t really that bad.”

The spiked pole had gone two inches deep at the back of Mills’ right leg, above his knee. "When they pulled it out, at about 8.30pm, you could see how sharp it was to have gone so far into my leg,” added Mills, a keen Oldham Athletic supporter.

“It was a