Celtic League/Interview with Denis Hickie: As is the way in this country, the prophets of doom were whispering away on the sidelines. Denis Hickie's operation didn't go to plan. He'd had a setback. He'd lost his pace. He might never be the same again. Hickie was aware of it, as much of it was based on genuine concern, but, as with many before him, rumours of his demise proved somewhat premature.

Ten months after rupturing his achilles tendon, Hickie launched his comeback ten minutes into Leinster's Celtic League game against Munster last week and scarcely looked as if he'd been away ten days. Physically he looked stronger than ever; the old acceleration was undimmed; reintroduced on the wing he counter-attacked with the flair of old, and he torpedoed the ball miles. A small step, but it was good to see him back.

"It was a relief more than anything else," recalled Hickie over breakfast this week, looking as easygoing as ever. Eased back in as a replacement, Hickie was obliged to come on sooner than anticipated when John McWeeney strained a hamstring.

"That made it better, because I didn't have to think about it."

Just playing again and getting through the game was good enough for Hickie. Not that he ever seriously doubted he would make it back, for his ten-month recuperation appears to have been quite smooth.

Rewind to the Ireland-Australia World Cup pool match in the Telstra Dome in Melbourne on November 1st last year: "I got the ball off a planned move. Elton Flatley was coming across and he only got one of my feet. I was moving forward at the time and my heel wasn't able to come up. My achilles snapped and I had a pretty good idea what had happened. I had torn my ankle ligaments before so I knew it wasn't that. I was able actually to feel there was no achilles there."

In what must be fairly surreal moments, he remembers it wasn't that painful if he didn't move it. "It happened just as Shaggy (Shane Horgan) was sin-binned, so that's why no-one saw it. I remember looking up and seeing everyone was fighting and hoping nobody would fall over me."

Just missing out on a World Cup quarter-final the following week was enough to depress him. He had to have an operation within five days, and was better off having it in Dublin, where the surgeon was Dr Bill Quinlan, father of the Leinster centre Dave, in St Vincent's. "Being in hospital and actually watching the French match was the hardest part."

One will never know how things might have panned out for Leinster and Ireland had their cutting edge not been blunted by the loss of a genuinely world-class finisher. Even allowing for his rugby pedigree, speedy Irish Caucasians don't exactly grow on trees. His breed is a rarity.

Not that Hickie himself became unduly concerned about such thoughts. No point in torturing yourself. He'd always regarded forecasts of him being back in time for the South African tour as a tad optimistic. For 10 weeks his leg was in a cast. Then he was allowed to walk on it for six weeks, before easing his way back through cycling and weights under the supervision of Frances Davis, Aidan O'Connell and Dave Fagan at Leinster.

His leg had shrunk to pencil-slim dimensions, but apart from one slightly torn calf muscle when cycling there were no setbacks. By March 28th he was given the all-clear by Dr Quinlan and on April 16th began the serious, daily rehabilitation work over the summer with Mark McCabe. "He's brilliant. It's the way he rehabs people. It's training-based rehab."

All of this was supervised by Dr Liam Hennessy, and made Hickie appreciate the IRFU's excellent support structures more than ever before. "There was nothing I needed throughout the year which I couldn't get."

He also intensified his speed work by training with Jim Kilty and Ireland's Olympic aspirants.

"That was very helpful. I noticed myself getting better, and I was away from rugby. You get a real insight into it. I saw a lot of athletes, like Paul Hession and Ciara Sheehy, who were really killing themselves to get to the Olympics, and it didn't really work out for them."

More than anything, he used his enforced time away from the game to rekindle old friendships and make new ones. Coincidentally, an old schoolmate, David McEnroe, took a career break at the same time. "It was perfect timing. I had nothing to do for two-and-a-half months. It was like being back in college - with money.

"I actually decided early on that I'd get as far away from rugby as I could. Not because I didn't like rugby, but I'd been a professional since 19. A lot of players have taken a rest during their career and this was, in some ways, like a rest."

In ten months he's been to two Leinster Celtic League matches, against Edinburgh and the Ospreys, otherwise confining himself to watching Heineken Cup and tests on TV. Hence he was somewhat removed from Leinster's travails, and even were he inclined, wouldn't feel qualified to comment anyway.

"Going to live music is what I did mostly," he laughs. "I was really looked after by some people in MCD."

A self-professed "musical whore", he shows a page from his diary of the concerts he's been to: Bryan Adams in the Olympia, Fleetwood Mac at the Point, Radiohead, David Wood, Kings of Leon, Paul Weller, Electric Six, Josh Ritter, Air ("they were outstanding, amazing live"), Paddy Casey, Zero Seven, Mundy, Iggy Pop, David Byrne, the White Stripes, a host of others, a weekend at Oxygen in Punchestown, and Madonna ("Brutal. No atmosphere at all. Like watching a music video. Boring").

His social life was revitalised generally. "I was a go-to man for two-and-a-half months. If anyone was going out, I was going out, as much as you can on crutches."

He took weekend breaks in Barcelona, New York and elsewhere.

"I've had a very good time. I really enjoyed my year out from rugby and I don't think it's a bad thing to say that. I enjoyed not being involved in rugby and not being away at weekends. If stuff was going on I was able to do it. I met the most amazing people, people I wouldn't have met otherwise, went to the most amazing places, hung out with people I hadn't been able to hang out with in years, old schools friends, and everybody was really good to me. People were really generous to me, and it helped take my mind off rugby, which is as important as physio."

He's as phlegmatic about playing full back as he was about his time away from the game.

"Decky (Kidney) is still playing around with positions. I think this will be the first year when everyone will be relaxed when they're not playing or when they're playing out of position. Now whatever team plays is the Leinster team."

In this, and other ways, Kidney looks made to order. "We needed a lot of what Matt (Williams) brought us at the time, but maybe now we need a lot of what Declan brings."

Unsurprisingly, after what he's been through Hickie isn't inclined to look too far ahead. "A lot of people have said to me 'Oh, Lions this year', but for the last nine months I just thought about playing a game of rugby at a high level. Now I have to get through another one, and another one after that. So I can, with all honesty, say I haven't even thought about next year." Small steps first, then bigger ones.