JUST weeks ago, Cinderford hooker Sam Wilkes was lying in intensive care with a mystery illness that baffled the medics.

Now he's fighting back, with a view to returning to a rugby field by Christmas.

Sam, 26, lost more than two stone after being struck down by what doctors now believe was a rare form of cellulitis.

He said: "No one really knew what was happening and normal drugs were not working. The infection got so bad it was starting to affect my organs. I was critical and in intensive care for two or three days."

Sam's problems first surfaced a couple of days after Cinderford's defeat in Birmingham.

He woke in the night feeling hot, with a severe pain underneath his arm. He went for a drink, but was violently ill.

His condition deteriorated as his temperature rose to 39.8 degrees. The pain spread around his body and he broke out in hot blisters that looked like sunburn. Antibiotics did not work.

He said: "Usually, this sort of thing is the result of an infection in a bite or a cut but I didn't have anything on me. When I was a kid I was seriously ill with something called osteomyelitis, and for a while they were concerned it was to do with that. Now, they don't think it was, although the doctors still aren't exactly sure what was wrong."

Eventually, the doctor's got to grips with Sam's infection, although his weight dropped from 16½ stones to 14½ so his 'teeth were showing through his cheeks'.

He is now building himself up again with a view to resuming the rugby campaign that began so well.

Sam enjoyed a good pre-season to become the first choice hooker at Dockham Road.

His skill around the park gave Cinderford an extra dimension.

The former Lydney and Clifton player – who has also played as a prop and a back-row – said: "People have said some very nice things but I don't want to rush back before I'm ready. I want to make an impact when I return, not disappoint.

"I'm mainly training on my own. I'm back at club training but not doing any contact yet.

"I might miss a couple of months of the season but that's not so bad compared to some rugby injuries that people get."