mens
Gallagher-Prime Minister
England boss steve borthwick got a Nations Championship blow after sales Sharks loosehead Bevan Rodd has undergone his fourth operation in two years following a hand injury sustained against Bristol Bears last weekend.
Rodd, who made five appearances off the bench in last season’s Six Nations, faces eight to 12 weeks on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on the scaphoid, the most commonly broken carpal bone in the hand.
It is another setback for Rodd, who missed the Nations Championship this summer after suffering a dislocated shoulder in Sale’s 26-17 European Champions Cup win over Harlequins in April.
Sharks boss Alex Sanderson said in his weekly media call that Rod will now miss the November games against Australia, Japan and New Zealand, as well as the finals weekend, but believes he will bounce back playing at the lower end of the assessment.
“He’s had scaphoid surgery, so he’s out for eight to 12 weeks. He played 20 minutes with it. That’s why I thought it was OK. He’s just a tough guy and he’s messed up really well.”
“It’s unfortunate really. It’s just another knock for Bev, but eight for 12 takes him through the Nations Championship, and he’s good to go three-quarters of the way through the season. So it’s not devastating, but it’s a bit devastating for him at the moment.
“It was all because of different things. It’ll probably heal faster. If it’s a finger or a broken bone, it’s four weeks, but the scaphoid, as I understand it, controls blood flow, so generally they have to operate and it should heal.”
But the good news is that scans have revealed that Rekeiti Ma’asi-White did not damage his knee ligaments against the Bears, and he should be back in action in two or three weeks, and Tom Roebuck could be back for the trip to Saracens.
Ben Curry, who has not played since damaging his hamstring Investec Champions Cup to conquer Clermont Auvergne last December, he is now back in full training and could be back in action in North London.
“We had a really detailed plan of what training looked like, modified training into full training, leading up to this week where he’s in full training and sticking to it in terms of his meters and load.
“But I have to say, you know, he’s ready. When I had to run out last week to stop him from chasing Aaron Reed and put him in pursuit, he just lost his head,” Sanderson added.
