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Tom Curry boost, special treatment for 'highly-strung' Raffi Quirke
By Neil Squires
Tom Curry has given the British and Irish Lions a big boost after his Investec Champions Cup injury scare.
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The Sale flanker left the field after damaging his wrist in Sale’s defeat to Toulouse ten days ago, but scans have shown up no serious damage.
Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson has declared him fit for Saturday’s Premiership trip to Harlequins.
“Tom Curry is up for selection,” said Sanderson. ““It was a wrist ligament injury, and we had to consult all the medical opinions, through England and potentially the Lions, to understand where they were at, and what his thoughts were, but I’m happy to say the guy’s good to go. He’s confident to start this weekend if selected. You’d be hard pushed not to select Tom Curry, wouldn’t you?”
Curry started every game for England in the Six Nations and is hotly fancied to be named in Andy Farrell’s Lions squad on May 8.
Sale will also have prop Bevan Rodd in their squad at Quins, with the 24-year-old available again after the back injury that kept him out of the Toulouse game, as well as scrum-half Raffi Quirke, who returns after a frustrating hamstring issue.
Sanderson revealed the injury-prone Quirke, who was named in England’s Six Nations training squad only to pull out with the problem, has been put on a special training and monitoring plan to try to minimise the possibility of future flare-ups.
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“That is now in place because this was a minimal high grade one or two injury which should have been three or four weeks but it has blown out to a ten or 12-weeker,” said Sanderson.
“We’ve taken a Premiership football viewpoint on it, whereby we are scanning his hamstrings every week now because he’s just so highly strung. He’s such a good athlete – he was a triathlete as a kid, and he’s our fittest player, so it’s not like his muscles are breaking down because they’re not conditioned. I think it’s because of his power, if anything. His muscles aren’t able to take his power output.”
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