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Sale confirm Tom Curry's Six Nations with England is over
By Liam Heagney
Sale have confirmed that the Guinness Six Nations campaign with England is over for Tom Curry after his latest injury setback. The back-rower had just recovered from the torn hamstring that had ruled him out of the opening rounds of the championship versus Scotland and Italy, making his club comeback last Saturday for the Sharks at Northampton and then being included in the 36-strong England squad for this weekend’s round three game away to Wales.
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However, England revealed on Tuesday afternoon that Curry had suffered another injury and would be replaced in the match week squad that was reduced to 26 by his twin brother Ben. England didn’t provide any specifics regarding the extent of the latest Curry setback, other than saying in a statement: “Tom Curry has withdrawn from the squad with a leg.”
Sale, though, shed light on what happened when they held their weekly media briefing on Wednesday afternoon, revealing that it was a brand new injury picked up by Curry.
“It’s a 2C hamstring injury on the opposite side to the one that he did six weeks ago,” explained Alex Sanderson, the Sale director of rugby. “It’s a soft muscle injury that extended into the tendon. Four to six weeks.
“(It happened) First day. So he played 80 minutes on Saturday and I’m not entirely sure – the S&C guys are – what he did on Monday (with England) but it is something to do with the loading and the physical demands of international camp compared to your club.”
Understandably, having his 2023 Six Nations ended without making a single appearance in the tournament left Curry annoyed. “Yeah, he is frustrated,” continued Sanderson. “I mean, how good was he (versus Northampton)! This is a success we have had with Tom being able to go in and out of that (England) environment and be more resilient this year.
“Like, he knows his body better, knows his mind better. This is not a guy that needs two or three games to warm up now. Like, he can just go straight in and be on top of the game. I think we are getting somewhere with Tom in that respect.
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“He just cracks on, he knows his body that well,” added Sanderson when asked about the resilience of Curry when rehabbing his injuries. “He uses these times to get fitter, get stronger. I think he actually comes back better, certainly fresher, in a good spot. Very self-managed, self-motivated. Doesn’t go into a slump, doesn’t fade into the background. He’s still very much contributes and influences the boys around him.”
This latest injury, however, means that Curry will now be in the Sale environment for the remainder of their title-chasing Gallagher Premiership season. “There is always a silver lining and you get the positives out of it but I’d much rather him play for England. I would much rather that.”
