Sale explain how long new signing George Ford will be absent for

Alex Sanderson has shed light on how much of the upcoming 2022/23 season that England international George Ford will miss at his new club Sale. It was last November when it was announced that the 29-year-old half-back would leave Leicester for the Sharks. 

However, having gone on to star for the Tigers in the 2021/22 campaign, Ford’s stellar return to form – which included an England Guinness Six Nations recall – came unstuck when injured just 24 minutes into the Gallagher Premiership final at Twickenham.

Leicester went on to clinch glory without Ford, his replacement Freddie Burns landing a last-gasp drop goal to defeat Saracens in the June decider, but there was no insight in the aftermath as to how long the No10 would be sidelined for.  

That situation has now been clarified with Sale having commenced their pre-season preparations, Sanderson telling The Times that Ford sustained a six-to-nine-month injury where the best-case scenario at the moment is that he will be in contention to make his club debut when Leicester – of all teams – visit Salford for a round 14 Premiership match at the end of December.  

“George ruptured his achilles going over on his ankle in the Premiership final and we are hoping he will be back in six to nine months for the Leicester home game at the end of the year,” explained the Sale director of rugby. 

“He had the operation about ten days later and Leicester were really good pushing it through. It means we will lose George for the first half of the season, but we do have Rob du Preez fit, which wasn’t the case at the start of last season.”

There will be huge excitement when Ford does become available as he will renew his old backline partnership from Leicester with Manu Tuilagi. However, while new-to-the-club Ford has a lengthy contract ahead of him in Manchester, Tuilagi’s current deal expires in summer 2023 which means the pair might not be club colleagues for long.    

“Manu has been looking really good and should be ready for the start of the season,” continued Sanderson about Tuilagi, another player who has had his injury woes recently. “He is out of contract next year but there is no talk of him retiring.

“This season and the World Cup will determine if he is robust enough to continue. There is no lack of drive and he wants to stay here and why wouldn’t you? Everything happens a bit earlier now and you hear down the grapevine his agent has gone, as is his prerogative, to see what the French market has to offer.”