when mine broke, i had only been driving manual for a couple of months. it felt really tight and hard to push in. the main sign i had was with the clutch fully in, it would crunch putting into to gear. so the clutch was in but not engaged. and then i down geared one day and felt it snap.
lucky for me i was about 400 meters from my brothers house, and the little micra is a breeze to push.