The 46-year-old former Haydock ARLFC player never got to enjoy the profile in the sport that he had dreamed of as a junior at his hometown club.
But in many ways, Luke is a veritable sporting giant, a man who everyone in Rugby League should be aware of, even if the circumstances of his life will leave many people feeling uncomfortable.
A precocious talent, Luke made his open age debut for Haydock at just 15, having impressed at schoolboy level, when he achieved an early ambition by playing at Central Park, the then home of his favourite team, Wigan.
However, his dream of wearing the club’s famous cherry and white strip were cruelly dashed two years later in an under-18s match between Haydock and Folly Lane when and his life was changed forever.
“I just went down in an ordinary tackle and couldn’t get up again,” recalled Luke. “I had a feeling of pins and needles and was taken to hospital.
“The next thing I remember was waking up three months later in hospital in Southport.”
Luke had damaged vertebrae in his neck and was left irreversibly paralysed from the neck down, able to breathe only with the help of a mechanical ventilator.
“It was a bit of a shock to be hooked up to a ventilator, but the hospital was great, they looked after me really well in the spinal unit.”
That was 28 years ago and over the next few years Luke and his family struggled to cope with the severity of his disability, despite heart-warming support from the local community.
Luke’s situation changed 10 years ago when the Rugby League Benevolent Fund and the Steve Prescott Foundation became aware of his circumstances.
Established in the aftermath of Matt King suffering a similar injury to Luke’s, the RL Benevolent Fund commits to provide life-long support to any player who experiences life-changing trauma on the field of play.
“When we first came across Luke, he was living in the rear room of his family’s terraced house in Haydock which just wasn’t up to meeting his needs,” said Steve Ball MBE, who got to know Luke as a very special friend during his many years as general manager of the RL Benevolent Fund.
“His only view of the outside world was one window looking out onto a dark garden and it’s fair to say his family were struggling.”
The RL Benevolent Fund’s response was to build Luke a home that gave him the best quality of life possible, a dream made possible with the amazing support of the Steve Prescott Foundation, largely driven by Steve Prescott himself.
The two charities involved the Bryan family throughout a lengthy modification process on a nearby bungalow which saw Luke use his computing and design skills to create a home that is light, airy and accessible for someone of his significant needs.
“Steve Prescott was brilliant; a really good man and he became a really good friend. I’ll never be able to thank him enough for all he did. It’s fair to say that without Steve Prescott and the Benevolent Fund I probably wouldn’t be here.”
Sadly, Steve Prescott lost his battle against a rare form of bowel cancer in 2013 before the bungalow was finished, but construction – together with fundraising by the Steve Prescott Foundation to pay for work – continued to allow Luke and his devoted mum, Christine, to move in in late 2016.
“It was cruel that Steve died before the house was finished, I would have loved him to be here because I know it would’ve put a smile on his face,” said Luke.
“Being here has really benefited me, not just physically but in terms of my mental health I couldn’t have dreamed of living somewhere like this without the support of the Benevolent Fund and the Steve Prescott Foundation.
“They’ve not just provided me with a house; they’ve given me reasons to live as good a life as I can.
“The Benevolent Fund is incredibly important, not just to me but to the lives of all the people it helps,” said Luke. “They’re there for any player who needs help, especially at the time in their lives when they most need it.
“I feel very lucky that they’ve helped me. I can’t imagine how my life would be without them.”
If you would like to support the work of the RL Benevolent Fund, please make a donation via the charity’s dedicated Justgiving page – www.justgiving.com/rfluk