MARK CAIN has revealed he is keen to stay in rugby league after having his playing career cut short by injury.
The York City Knights favourite needs a knee reconstruction and has retired on the advice of specialists, but he wants to continue in the game in a coaching capacity.
As revealed by The Press, the 30-year-old has been granted a three-month testimonial by the Knights, starting with a fund-raising match between the current first-team squad and a York Old Boys team featuring noted players from the recent past.
Cain is unable to take part but will lead the side from the touchline and says coaching is something he is eager to get into once his knee is fixed.
"Jason Ramshaw has asked me to help with the Knights' scholarship and I think the club will put me through coaching courses," he explained.
"Hopefully I can develop a career in coaching, but first things first, I'd like to get the knee sorted."
Cain seriously damaged a posterior cruciate ligament in the opening game of 2006, his first appearance for ten months following a shoulder reconstruction, and has not been able to bend the knee properly since.
Experts have already performed surgery but, while the ligament would normally heal, a big hole in the cartilage means the knee is not stable enough for that to happen.
Cain will undergo an operation this month to stabilise the knee and mend the ligament, and further surgery later in the year will fix the cartilage. Rehabilitation is expected to take about 12 months in total.
"I'd like to play again but it's a long way down the road and the advice is to stop," said Cain.
"I'm a bit dejected about it but it's one of those things. The body sometimes tells you when it's had enough."
Cain has lost out on a wage as he has been unable to work in his trade as a builder. Furthermore, in the ultimate case of sod's law', he had also ended personal insurance just before suffering the injury.
This testimonial, which was the brainchild of Knights chief executive John Guildford, will provide the player with a deserved cash boost.
But Cain said: "The financial side of things is something I don't think about. I just want to put on a good show and it's good that some of the old boys will have a crack against the new era at York."
Former Great Britain star Lee Jackson has confirmed he will play, while ex-Knights hero Danny Brough says he too will turn out if his current club, Castleford, allow it.
The Old Boys team will also feature players from the old York Wasps, with whom Cain started his professional career in 1995, such as former captain Alan Pallister, Richie Hayes, Lea Tichener, Gary Atkins, and former player of the year Steve Hill. Stewart Horton, an ex-player and coach at York, is set to coach the team.
"Some of those players, like Alan Pallister and Lea Tichener, gave a lot to the club but didn't have the chance to play in front of decent crowds like York have now," added Cain.
"To have one last hurrah in front of lots of fans will be good for them to sign themselves off."
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