England captain Jodie Cunningham will take part in Friday's World Cup quarter-final against Samoa in Wollongong, New South Wales, after undergoing surgery in Perth to have her ear reattached following a severe injury during a 78-0 defeat to Australia on Saturday.
After the incident, staff wiped away blood, taped her ear to her head, and sent her back onto the pitch wearing a spare jersey. Officials forced team staff to write her number on the spare jersey using a marker pen. Head coach Stuart Barrow described the injury as gruesome, noting that medical personnel at a local hospital in Perth performed excellent work after the final whistle. Cunningham returned to the squad that same evening and participated in training sessions on Monday and Tuesday with bandages and stitches.
The image of Cunningham wearing a jersey with the number 14 hand-written in marker sparked discussion online, with critics arguing it looked unprofessional. Barrow clarified that tournament rules do not require a number on a blood replacement shirt, but staff rushed the decision to avoid wasting time arguing with officials on the touchline.
Barrow stated, "It's ridiculous because we've played in international rules all our time in Super League rules. Your blood bin shirt, your spare shirt, is a blank shirt." He added, "We didn't want to argue on the touchline and waste time. We wanted her back on. So the staff came up with an excellent piece of innovative thinking and just wrote it on and said, 'That'll do you, get on.'" Cunningham plans to retire following the conclusion of this tournament.
