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Tom Curry awaiting Harley Street verdict after latest injury setback
Sale boss Alex Sanderson has revealed he is awaiting a specialist opinion from London on the severity of the latest injury setback suffered by Tom Curry. The England back-rower has yet to feature in the Gallagher Premiership since his return to Manchester following his country’s third-place finish last month at the Rugby World Cup in France.
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Curry went into that tournament with an ankle injury that prevented him from featuring in any of the four-game Summer Nations Series.
He was then red-carded just three minutes into the tournament opener versus Argentina in Marseille on September 9 but he returned in October to play a crucial part in the matches versus Samoa, Fiji, South Africa and Argentina, culminating in a bronze medal win on October 27.
Eighteen days on from that Stade de France victory, Curry has now visited a specialist in London’s Harley Street to check on the extent of the hip injury that has prevented him from making his first appearance of the club season in England with Sale.
“I’m waiting on a specialist assessment on his hip,” explained Sanderson on Tuesday afternoon when hosting his club’s weekly media briefing ahead of this Friday’s league clash versus Newcastle at the AJ Bell. “He has got a dicky hip, that’s the medical term for it.
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗧 𝗕𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗜𝗧𝗦 🔥
The boys are back on home turf 𝘛𝘏𝘐𝘚 𝘍𝘙𝘐𝘋𝘈𝘠 and are hungry to claim the Kings of the North title 👑.
This is not one to miss! Secure your seat below 👇.#SALvNEW | #SharksAreCircling🦈
— Sale Sharks 🦈 (@SaleSharksRugby) November 11, 2023
“He came in (from the World Cup) and was alright but as soon as we trained with any intensity he stiffened up and it took us a while to free him up again and these are some chronic micro-tears in his labrum. So of them chronic, maybe one or two of them from the World Cup.
“We have to wait and see until this specialist tells us exactly what he has done and how he has done it and what kind of rehabilitation and treatment he needs.
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“I’m not giving you anything clear because I don’t know myself, but it could be as little as a couple of weeks to rehab it because it has shown up well this week; it could be a lot longer depending on how much wear and tear there might be on his bone.
“He was in Harley Street this morning. I have had a missed call from our head of medical whilst I have been in meetings upstairs and I have run straight from that straight down to here because I knew I was late for you guys [the media], so I haven’t heard.”
Whatever the length of this latest setback in an injury-hit 2023 for Curry, Sanderson is backing the 25-year-old to bounce back. “I don’t think anyone who trains and plays like he does is ever going to avoid some kind of achilles heel, that’s about the best way you can put it and I mean that in the metaphorical sense.
“It’s human. Something is going to give at some point and he has to manage it. How you manage it – and every club player goes through an injury crisis – will determine the longevity of his career moving forward, so that is the key and we have spoken about that.
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“This is not tragic, this is not career-ending by any stretch, but it is another speed bump in what has been a really bumpy road for him this year. He has got to get over that but let’s look at this injury in isolation and not feel like you are tainted with bad luck because that is what it could feel like for him and then he can get down and all that stuff.
“It will turn, his luck will turn. We will put Humpty Dumpty back together again, you will see him soon enough, hopefully by Christmas, and then we will take the long-term effect of this as and when we find them.”
Being sidelined once more will surely test the mental resolve of Curry. Sanderson, though, offered up the inspiring story of his own older brother Pat from the mid-noughties as evidence that things can change for the better for Curry in the long run.
“I don’t work too closely on the psychological side with Tom because he wants to keep that separate from the conversations we have with him around his performance, but I know he does work hard on it. I did have a conversation with him and from personal experience is the best way you can talk or discuss these things.
“Like my brother got injured for two years at Quins, both ankles operated on, got his contract struck off, said please just give me the money to live off which they did, got back into the side, got players’ player of the year the year after that and captained England the year after that.
“That happening to people by one degree of separation from me left me to say, ‘Tom, this is just part of your journey’. So I can speak to him in that sense and hopefully try and calm him down because human nature is to think the worst, this is happening again and it’s spiraling. Well actually no, you’re not alone here.
“That is the nature of the conversation I had with him last week and I’m certainly going to be in his plans long term because whatever future treatment he needs we have to be strategic on that if he does need it. We spoke about that but on the back of that he just gets on with it.”
Comments on RugbyPass
GOTTA MAKE ‘THE GEORGE’ HAPPEN!!!! That’s a great idea! A trans Tasman midget battle on ANZAC Day. I don’t think the ABs Wallabies game should be a one off winner takes all though, just the first match with the other two later in the year with the RC. Reason being, no one will ever shut up about how aussies couldn’t win it when it was a 3 match series.
1 Go to comments@Ben smith. Thats knock out rugby. So honeslty who cares?
152 Go to commentsIt will interesting to know which Irish players said that…
1 Go to commentsNaaaww boys will be boys! Now run along ya wee scamp! Don’t let us catch you at again😏
1 Go to commentsGreat to have Ethan Blackadder back in the Crusaders in the last few weeks. One of the best all round loose forwards around. He played so well last week against the Rebels. Fantastic attitude Ethan has and his comments are spot on.
2 Go to commentsThe author is 100% right. The Springboks know that they don't have near the natural attraction, mana, skill and mystic the All Blacks have. So, Chasing the sun 1 & 2 was concocted to overblow the Boks image on the back of a corruptly obtained “win". It's marketing ploy to force the Boks delusion as the World's Best. I guess World Rugby is also not to be believed when it came out with an apology about how the final was officiated. And if the 2023 final such a superb game by the Boks, then the Boks crying about Referee Bryce Lawrence for decades is also deserves a laugh. Chase the sun and get burned like a moth. A very well written literary piece that tore the Boks and Chasing the sun farce to shreds. 🖤All Blacks🏉
152 Go to commentsI’d say France was far more hard done by in the 2011 final than the All Blacks in this game. Joubert simply refused to call a penalty against the All Blacks in the last quarter even directing an All Black to drop a ball he picked up in an offside position rather than penalizing him. This article also totally discounts the efforts of PSTD. Ask Jordie how well he played. Or the backup flank who played hooker for the entire game. Siya was also a brilliant tackle by Richie from scoring a blinder. Pollard was also fantastic. Look I don’t like the boks style but the only thing more questionable than the content of this article is the timing of it. Get over it already
152 Go to commentsDad Marty was also a handy rugby player for Linwood back in the day. Great bloke. Sensational softball career.
2 Go to commentsWhat ifs are always dangerous. If you look at the game before Sam cane got sent of SA was dominating. You could make the argument the going down to 14 men rallied the troops and made them have to play to win which is always dangerous.
152 Go to commentsOmg… you are bruised And battered Benny. Stop crying … the scoreboard speaks. What a pathetic lover you are.. 🤣🤣🤣
152 Go to commentsPacific Lions, cry me a river
152 Go to commentsThis is the single worst piece of journalism I have ever seen since your last one. As a neutral, who really states that there should be an asterisk next to a win? You are an utter embarrassment to real AB fans, journalism and that joke of a house which pays you for this nonsense. Get a life, Ben.
152 Go to commentsGuys. Cancel the World Cup champions after this analysis. It changes everything. Ben knows. We’ll have to unengrave the Bokke off the trophy and hand it to the ABs, now that I’ve been enlightened about this illegitimate win. This needs to be done. Now!
152 Go to commentsBen is right here though, Springboks were woefully poor with the advantage they had throughout this game. The France match was heroic because that was an even contest this match had it taken place in Rugby Championship would have been an easy win for NZ. If anything this match should tell the Bok coaches that a lot of this team should be changed. They beat this same NZ team by record margin with the same circumstances but with a different core. They bring back the tried and tested guys and they nearly botch this game.
152 Go to commentsI knew who wrote this article from the first few words in the headline…lol. The red card actually did the ABs a favour. It galvanized them, only then did they step up a gear. Before that there was zero momentum.
152 Go to commentsFirstly the foul on Bongi was a planned move just like the NZ master plan with Bryce Lawrence you kiwis are filthy fux perhaps try to play a cleaner game next time I doubt that’s possible tho but don’t worry world rugby is on yr side they trying to take away all the BOKS strengths to help all you weakling as Jeremy Clarkson would say LA OO ZA ERR..🤣
152 Go to commentsAbsolutely spot on Ben. I certainly wouldn't gloat over a win like that. Frustrating as it is it's done and dusted and history will forever show the result.
152 Go to commentsHo hum.
152 Go to commentsNo question they were the better team. But that is the beauty of sport isn’t it!
152 Go to commentsEveryone is into Hurling in Ireland according to Porter, but only 11 of Ireland's 32 counties enter a team into the national competition. Same old blarney.
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