BEN Harrison’s rugby league rise started to reach its greatest heights in 2010.

For two years, head of coaching and rugby Tony Smith would highlight the forward for special praise in post-match interviews, such was the consistency in high levels of performance.

And England international appearances followed on the back of it.

Harrison, now in a Testimonial campaign rewarding 13 years of loyal service with The Wire, reflects on a serious injury hindering his progress but yet he continued to achieve great things in primrose and blue – including winning the Challenge Cup and reaching two Grand Finals – while playing with a snapped posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

“It was the start of 2012 against Huddersfield when I got a really bad injury on my knee, snapping my PCL,” said Harrison.

“There was the option of having the operation needed to repair it and miss six to nine months, or ‘rehab’ it over a period of about eight weeks and then I could play on without it.

“Looking back now with hindsight, it’s one of them where you can say should I have had the operation?

“Now, because I played on with the injury, I’ve got the knee of a 45 to 50-year-old man due to the degeneration of where it’s worn away, because of the instability of not having the ligament.

“I’m reaping the rewards in a negative way of not having the operation.

“But I still managed to gain some form, won the Challenge Cup that year, we reached Grand Finals in 2012 and 2013 and I had more international games in the autumn tour of 2012 for England. So in that regards I wouldn’t want to change that.

“Then 2014 and 2015 I had injuries and I was living on pain killers and muscle relaxants to try to get through.

“It’s happened now and I’ve got to live with the decisions made, but I’ve had a career so far where not a lot of people can say they’ve played for their country, played in Grand Finals and Challenge Cup Finals.

“I’m very grateful for what I’ve done. It’s ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ really, it may have panned out a different way but I’ll live with that.

“At that time, before my knee knocked me back a bit, I was playing every week, I was young, fresh, fit, enjoying rugby and life.

“When you’re carrying different injuries, it can affect you, and it all came to a head over the past year.

“I had to have four operations on different body parts – wrist, both shoulders and my knee – to salvage things and make myself biomechanically capable to get out on the field.

“But it’s all part of rugby and not just with me.

“People judge players on form and criticise, but plenty of the players are playing through injury, carrying knocks and bumps.

“Most people would have time off work with such things, but players will play another 10 weeks of rugby and save it until the off-season to recover.

“When you’re behind the scenes and you know what’s going on it’s a tip of the cap as you appreciate what players are actually doing.”