The 25-year-old was injured in a challenge, attempting to stop Stallions’ Michael Salvati in the third quarter at Zayed Sports City but the Englishman came off worse with pain in his left foot.

That saw him watch the rest of the game from the sidelines but even his plastered foot or ice pack didn’t dampen his mood. “It was a bad tackle from me going in at a wrong angle,” he said. “My foot is just a bit swollen and I think I should be all right for the play-offs.”

Cudas coach Kyle Jordan admits Norrey will be a big loss if he doesn’t feature in the play-offs in two week’s time.

“I like Luke, it’s tough to go into a game without him,” he said. “He’s a vital part of our team.”

Norrey’s significance to the team was there to see yesterday. By the time he came off, Cudas were already holding a 13-0 lead. Norrey’s 17-yard touchdown and Michael Anderson’s extra point gave Cudas a 7-0 lead. Mathias Bartsch ran for a 4-yard touchdown to make it 13-0 going into half-time.

Stallions got back into the game with a safety point after Bartsch was tackled in his end zone but that was as good as it got for them.

The win means Cudas finish the regular season in second (3-3) and Jordan was satisfied by what he saw. “We could have played better but I am happy with the win and we’ll take it,” he said.

Al Ain Desert Foxes did something that no other team did before this season by handing leaders Abu Dhabi Wildcats their first loss.

Their 14-0 win came into life in the third quarter with wide receiver Te’Andre Mckinney’s 40 yard catch before Muhammad Abdullah’s 4-yard touchdown sealed the win to finish level on points with Cudas.