Wales Rugby Player Suffers Severe Infection After Nose Injury
A Wales international rugby player, Sam Davies, 32, experienced significant weight loss of 7kg (15lb) and was left bedbound following what initially appeared to be a minor injury to his nose.
The injury occurred during a match for Grenoble in January. Despite heavy bleeding, Davies continued to play.
Weeks later, medical professionals diagnosed him with a staphylococcus infection, commonly known as a staph infection. This bacterium resides in the noses of approximately one in three people and can enter the body through cuts.
By the time of diagnosis, the infection had spread to Davies' bones, resulting in loss of sensation in his legs and severe pain.
Treatment is ongoing to combat the infection, but the timeline for his return to rugby remains uncertain.
"I think the positive thing for me to try and keep a hold of is the fact that I'm better, I'm walking around.
I've come from a place where I was completely kind of unable to walk, to being able to walk around and do everyday tasks. And, I think that was the first protocol to start with, was just to get back to normal.
So I'm back to normal in terms of everyday living. I've just got to get back to rugby protocol."
Medical Perspective on Diagnosis and Symptoms
Dr Sarah Hooper, a microbiologist, described Davies' case as "severe" and noted that diagnosis was challenging due to the vague nature of his symptoms.
"It [the infection] would be more difficult to treat as it's moved around the body and is well established [before it was detected]."
Typically, staph infections manifest as painful lumps, blisters, or swollen skin. However, Davies exhibited no obvious signs initially; what appeared to be burns on his foot only developed after the infection had progressed.
At its worst, the infection rendered Davies unable to rise from the sofa or perform basic tasks such as showering. He is now gradually resuming life with his young family.
Career Background and Personal Life
Swansea-born Davies was named world junior player of the year in 2013 after aiding Wales in reaching the under-20s World Cup final.
He began his professional career with the Ospreys, later playing for the Newport-based Dragons, and earned eight caps for Wales.
In 2023, Davies and his wife Elianna embarked on a new chapter as he joined Grenoble, aiming to help the club secure promotion to France's Top14 league.
During their time in France, their daughter Vienna was born. She was nine months old when Davies' health crisis began in January.
"It's been a really difficult few months mentally and physically," Davies said.
"I wasn't able to do even the most basic of tasks, so it felt like my wife had two babies."
Details of the Injury and Initial Symptoms
Davies described the incident:
"I took quite a nasty blow about 50 minutes in.
It wasn't broken, but the inside was very messed up… it just kept bleeding.
I thought it would be fine as it didn't feel like anything more than a bang."
Despite the heavy bleeding and a deviated septum, he continued playing. Having recently returned from a four-month shoulder injury layoff, he was eager to remain on the field.
He completed the game, but a few days later began feeling unwell.
Elianna recounted how Davies experienced stiffness in his hips and difficulty with basic movements days after the match. Initially, they attributed this to his playing role, which involves extensive kicking, as he is Grenoble's primary goalkicker.
"Sam woke me up around 4am quite scared because he couldn't move his legs, and asked me to call an ambulance."
Due to a language barrier, Elianna struggled to convey the severity of Davies' condition to emergency services and had to assist him into their car to reach the hospital.
Davies, who speaks some French, found it difficult to express the intensity of his pain. He spent eight days in hospital undergoing tests.
Although initial tests indicated signs of Staphylococcus, he was discharged with pain relief. The infection was confirmed two weeks later, by which time it had spread to his bones.
Understanding Staph Infection
According to Public Health Wales, staph infection is caused by staphylococcus bacteria, which inhabit the noses of about one-third of people. The bacteria can enter the body through cuts.
Symptoms may include painful lumps, blisters, and swollen skin. Most cases respond to antibiotics, but untreated infections can become severe, spreading to organs, the bloodstream, or bones.
Dr Hooper noted that cases as severe as Davies' are uncommon.
Davies suspects the injury sustained on a 4G artificial pitch may have contributed to the infection.
"There's been a few studies that have looked at the types of bacteria on artificial turf and generally the organisms that you tend to see there are of human origin, so they've come from the skin, sweat or saliva and you find staphylococcus very commonly in both.
There's been some research done that has found you can get transmission from athletes on artificial turf, and the bacteria can survive there for several days.
On this type of turf you often get burns, and because the skin is broken, if bacteria is already there, that's its way of getting in and causing an infection."
Ongoing Treatment and Future Outlook
Davies is scheduled for a pelvic scan and may require stronger antibiotics, as his orthopaedic surgeon suspects residual bacteria may remain.
"I will more than likely play again, it's not a career-ender," he said.
"But part of me thinks how long that could have gone on for?
It really could have spread further and further, then my career would have really been in jeopardy."
He has been treated at CHU Grenoble Alpes. The hospital stated:
"In accordance with applicable regulations and medical confidentiality requirements, we are not in a position to disclose any personal or medical information concerning patients treated within our institution."
