WENDELL SAILOR will have a titanium plate in his face for the rest of his life.

The Dragons superstar was yesterday ruled out of the NRL for four weeks with two facial fractures - the major break being his cheekbone - resulting from the stray elbow by Brisbane's David Stagg on Friday night.

The game at WIN Stadium doubled as Sailor's redemption of sorts after a two-year drug ban from all football and six years away from the NRL.

The titanium plate will be inserted soon and will never be taken out.

"Bad news, mate," Dragons doctor Paul Arnett told Sailor at half-time.

"What?" Sailor said.

"That's a fracture."

"Can I finish the game? I've got to finish the game."

"No way."

That's when Sailor's wife, Tara, cried. And it's when Sailor, a man among men, shed a tear.

He was told that returning to the field could result in him losing his eyesight - or having his eye pushed back in the socket.

Sailor was shattered because he thought he had let down everyone - "all the blokes who have welcomed me to the club with open arms, Brownie (coach Nathan Brown), the club's fans, all the people who stuck by me, all the people wishing me well, everyone" - and all he wanted to give them in return was 80 minutes of decent footy.

"I think he raised the elbow, but I'm not dirty about it," Sailor said of the tackle.

"I know he's not a dirty player. It was just really disappointing for me how the night panned out.

"I didn't care about the hype. I know I can play and what I can do. I just wanted to go the full game and give the Dragons some payback for them giving me another chance at footy.

"I was desperate for that. They're just a really good bunch of blokes here. I've had some dark days but getting back on the field was the chance to put all that behind me.

"I'd made it back, you know. Running out onto that field, it was such a big thing for me. That was redemption, that was it. I was shattered I couldn't finish the game."

Sailor forgives Stagg, but the NRL match review committee might be less understanding. Stagg seems certain to be charged as Sailor starts preparing for another comeback in a month.

"I knew something was really wrong as soon as it happened," he said. "I felt like my whole cheek, all that side of my face, had caved in.

"I couldn't see anything. Lucky they didn't kick the ball to me, it would have just hit me on the head. I told the trainer I thought I might be in a bit of strife, but there's no way I was going off. It was nearly half-time and I thought I might be all right after the break.

"I wanted to keep going for the people. I really wanted to finish the game for the people behind me, but I wanted to stick it up the people who had criticised and written me off me over the years. I wanted to show them: 'See, I made it back."'

The beauty of Sailor is his honesty and passion. Confidence in his own footballing ability is an invaluable and contagious asset and his mere presence is making teammates strut.