There is a growing trend of players’ health and fitness updates being fiercely protected.
Jamie Heaslip was giving nothing away in the weeks and months before injury put paid to his professional career.
What began, we were told at the Aviva Stadium, as an ankle roll became an upper hamstring injury and then, we later learned, was a back issue. There was talk of surgery and slipped discs but Heaslip gave nothing up.
Enquiries on return dates and the extent of the injury that had laid him low, from March 2017 until his retirement 11 months later, were met with a brick wall. My body, my business. Each to his own. He retired a legend but not as the unbreakable being that once threatened to outlast us all.
News, last week, of Conor Murray being out “short-term” for Munster included, in the same news release, the announcement of Alby Mathewson’s imminent arrival. The former New Zealand No.9 was coming in until January but we were assured, by those close to the club, that Murray should be back much sooner than that.
Mathewson arrived in Limerick at the weekend and was out training with his new teammates earlier this week. Murray, who is coping with neck issues, was out on the training pitch too but his workload was much, much lower.
After Munster’s PRO14 victory over Cheetahs, Johann van Graan was asked about Murray’s injury. He responded:
“I can’t comment on Conor’s injury. I wasn’t in a position to comment on it, on Monday. He’s got an injury… it’s positive but we just take it day by day.”
Players are becoming increasingly protective of their own, personal health and fitness updates and many teams (clubs, provinces and countries) the world over now need to clear injury updates with players, or their representatives, before they are made public.
Murray missed 12 weeks of the 2016/17 season with a shoulder injury that ended up having a knock-on effect on his neck. He lost full power in his right arm and was forced to miss most of the business end of the season before returning in time for the PRO12 final and making it on the British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand.
Murray included, this is the current injury list for Munster’s senior squad:
- Tyler Bleyendaal (neck)
- Chris Cloete (groin)
- Conor Oliver (toe)
- Chris Farrell (knee)
- Liam O’Connor (knee)
- Jack O’Donoghue (knee)
- Ronan O’Mahony (ankle)
Given the intensity and toll exacted by modern rugby, having eight players unavailable is not bad going for van Graan and his Munster coaching team. Most clubs operate today with the working acceptance of having anywhere between 15-20% of their senior squad being injured or playing on through knocks.
Van Graan has received a couple of big boosts in the form of centres Dan Googin, who featured against Cheetahs, and Jaco Taute being available for selection. Taute played a mighty 26 games in his debut season for Munster but picked up a bad knee injury 20 minutes into his fifth outing of the 2017/18 season.
Having the South African back and available for selection is like a new signing for Munster and will offer his coach several positional options in the backline. Taute told Sporting Limerick:
“My personal goals, first and foremost, are to get out on the pitch and back playing. I’ve been training a lot with the team and trying to get ready.
“For me, it’s about getting back on that field and actually playing, because it’s a bit different being between those four white lines during game-time, compared to training.”
Warriors away, on Friday night, should be the scene for Taute’s comeback.
As for Murray, we’ll wait, we’ll hope and we’ll see.
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