Promising young rugby league player Neil Gulliver is primed for a miraculous comeback just 18 months after suffering serious injuries in a head-on car crash.

The 20-year-old student's right leg and arm were smashed and his right elbow dislocated in the accident on the A166 York to Stamford Bridge road.

But after seven months on crutches and six subsequent operations, Gulliver is poised to return to the New Earswick All Blacks 'A' team - despite having a plate in his arm and a metal rod in his right leg.

Gulliver told the Evening Press he was hoping to play in the amateur club's Yorkshire League Alliance division two fixture at Stanningley on Saturday.

"I want to play. It means a lot to me, I can't really say," said Gulliver.

"I have been working towards it for a year and a half and it is all I have wanted to do. There are not many things I am good at but rugby is one of them.

"Rugby is the thing I have missed most. Most of my mates are from rugby and it felt odd watching them on Saturdays rather than playing. I missed the life. I was used to being fit and strong."

The prop forward, who has examined how professionals approach a return from serious injury, claimed the first tackle of his comeback was a daunting prospect.

He said: "It is seeing whether or not you have lost your bottle. I have listened to what professionals have said and people who have come back say the first few minutes are nerve-wracking but you don't forget about it for two or three games."

Recalling the night of the crash, January 21, 1997, Gulliver said: "It took 40 minutes to cut me out and I was hysterical. It was a nightmare.

"You can't imagine it, it was the worst thing ever. It makes me appreciate things more, like running and playing rugby and even walking."

The former Huntington School pupil paid tribute to the support and encouragement of his family and friends, including his New Earswick team-mates.

"My family have been very, very good and everybody at the club has always been supportive, even when I was depressed. The doctors were brilliant," he said.

"I started back training in June and it has been hard. I like to do something every day. It is not so bad but it gets tiring and the more running I do, the more I limp. But I can't wait to play."

During his rehabilitation, Gulliver never once contemplated that his rugby league career was over.

He insisted: "I didn't think about it. It is something I have done since I was 13. I am a bit surprised how long it has taken but the doctors think I have done well, so I am quite chuffed.

"The doctor said 'you do as much as you can'. The muscle tone is not quite there in the right leg. Even with normal life I favour my right leg."

Gulliver added that just one more operation awaits him - to have the rod removed from his leg - and that may take place in January.

In the meantime, the sports science student, who is studying at York College of Further and Higher Education, aims to catch up with the progress of some of his All Blacks contemporaries.

"I played with Adie Robinson, Carl Pallister and Andy Fletcher, who are first team players now," he said.

"I am hoping to get back in the first team, that is the aim at the moment and when I get to university, see if I can get in the regional team or a summer Conference side."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.