Even for a man who has battled back from two serious injuries in recent years, Tommy Bowe knew this could be it.
The Ulster and Ireland winger collapsed to the Millennium Stadium turf, on October 18, in the opening stages of Ireland's World Cup exit to Argentina.
12 minutes into Ireland's quarter final humbling, Bowe was carted off the pitch. He thought this was it.
"My parents were there [in Cardiff]," he said. "I think they are giving it [coming to matches] up. It's not worth it."
In an insightful
Ireland AM interview, this morning, Bowe detailed the graphic nature of his injury but remained positive about comeback targets.
He said, "Surgery was two weeks ago. They sliced me open... it was my PCL [posterior cruciate ligament].
"That was the ligament that got operated on. I ripped it off the bone.
"They [the surgeons] did a right job on it."
Bowe spoke about the moment, 12 minutes in, that his World Cup was ended.
"I haven't watched it back," he admitted. "When it happened, I was scared. The knee completely bent out over the top.
"At the time, I feared for the worst."
Conservative return to play estimates, from medics and Ulster Rugby, have Bowe returning in March/April. The 31-year-old is a glass half full type of guy.
"I'm hoping it may be a couple more months.
"You've got to be optimistic about it. You want to be playing in the games leading up to the [2016] Six Nations but we'll see how we go."
