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Recovering McKinnon has arm movement, feeling in legs

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Newcastle Knights forward Alex McKinnon has regained more movement in his arms and sensation in his legs after he broke his neck in a match in Australia's National Rugby League last month. The 22-year-old broke two vertebrae in his neck in the Knights clash with the Melbourne Storm on March 24 after a lifting tackle by three opposition players drove him head-first into the ground and he underwent emergency surgery before being placed in an induced coma for almost a week. "(I have) a lot more movement in my right arm and a lot of movement in my left arm," McKinnon said of his recovery in an interview on the Knights website (www.newcaslteknights.com.au) on Friday. "It's just a matter of time that hopefully I get a bit more movement in my legs. I've got a great sensational feeling through my legs. (There are) a lot of positive signs." A local television network had reported shortly after the incident that McKinnon had been told he would be a quadriplegic, a report the Knights and the player's family angrily denied. The Knights said at the time it was too early to determine any permanent outcomes from the injury and recovery could take up to two years. The incident prompted a backlash against the NRL for allowing lifting tackle in the game. Storm prop Jordan McLean, who lifted McKinnon into the air before he was driven into the turf with his arms pinned back, was suspended for seven matches for a 'dangerous throw'. McKinnon, who was speaking for the first time since the incident, added he had been able to play a board game this week and he was getting intense physiotherapy and rehabilitation sessions. "Physio is pretty much getting my legs and my arms moving," McKinnon said. "Obviously not moving much in the last four weeks they are a little bit stiff. "It's been a tough month. There is a lot of improvements and that's the thing that is keeping me going. "I've come a long way in four weeks." (Reporting by Greg Stutchbury in Wellington; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)