An infected cut left the 30-year-old fearing he would lose his foot
England star Charlie Ewels says he was in danger of having his foot amputated after picking up an infection.
The Bath lock, who has 33 caps for England to his name, spent a week in hospital after picking up the illness, which came after a cut on his ankle became infected.
What started as an innocuous injury, however, quickly turned into something far more serious.
“It was a small cut on my left ankle,” he told the Daily Mail. “It was probably from a stud, but I don’t know.
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“We tested what the bacteria was that had got in there to make sure I was on the right antibiotics but never found the source.
“Where and what got in there, we don’t know.
“I was very, very well looked after both club wise and in an NHS hospital. I’m incredibly grateful to the people who looked after me.”
The 30-year-old was told that unless antibiotics took hold to stop the infection spreading, there was a real chance he would need an amputation, while sepsis also a real danger.
“It was very bad,” Ewels added.
“I spent a week in hospital on an IV drip and had surgery at the end to cut out all the infection. It was humbling. One day I was flying and the next I was lying there on a ward not knowing 100 per cent for 12 hours whether I was going to keep my foot or not.
“Now I only have a small mark and a story, but at the time I didn’t think it would be that.”
Ewels who’s played just four times in the 2025/26 campaign is now back in contention ahead of the Champions Cup last-16 clash with Saracens this weekend.
His experience comes after Wales international Sam Davies was hospitalised with a seemingly innocuous injury of his own.
The 32-year-old suffered a cut to his nose while in action for Grenoble in January, and carried on playing despite heavy bleed.
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Weeks later, he was told he had staph infection, which would then spread to his bones, leaving him with no feeling in his legs and in sever pain.
It’s not yet clear whether the Welshman will be able to keep playing.
Reflecting on the last few months, Davies told the BBC: “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.”