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Surgeon's latest advice for 'a freak of nature, Ollie Lawrence'
By Liam Heagney
Worcester have confirmed that the season is over for Ollie Lawrence but he won’t be undertaking surgery to solve the calf injury that has plagued him throughout the 2021/22 campaign. Despite missing the September England training camp after being described as “unwell” by an RFU statement, the midfielder started off promisingly at his club, playing in all seven of their opening Gallagher Premiership fixtures.
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However, a calf injury at the end of October sidelined him for a month and he then played again five weeks later off the bench versus Wasps. That, though, was his last appearance until he came on as a heavily strapped 55th-minute replacement in the recent Premiership Rugby Cup final at London Irish.
That 25-minute cameo became 45 minutes as the final went to extra time before Worcester lifted the cup on the most tries scored rule, but its knock-on effect will see the limping Lawrence miss the Warriors’ final league game of the season this Saturday at home to Bath.
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One appearance in nearly six months – and a season’s total of just 629 minutes of action – sounds worrying for the 22-year-old last capped by England in the 2021 Summer Series, but Worcester boss Steve Diamond is confident that they have the problem correctly diagnosed and that Lawrence will be ready for the new season in September.
“What we have done is we have sent him to arguably the best surgeon in the world for these problems and the surgeon, in layman’s terms, has said we can rehab this properly, as in ‘get him back to where he is’.
“He is a freak of nature, Ollie Lawrence, the way he is built, and guys similar to him like Manu (Tuilagi) up in Sale have similar problems. There is so much power being generated that certain parts of the body can’t cope with it and I’m a layman and not a medic. The surgeon has said that it doesn’t need surgery, it needs another way of rehab which our medics are on to and we are looking forward to him having a good pre-season and being ready for September.”
Diamond was delighted with Worcester winning a rare trophy. “Worcester have had a lot of tough seasons if I am honest and we have got a tough game to go at the weekend but there are not many things you can win in rugby and we managed to do it, so I’m really chuffed for the club.”
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Following Saturday’s game versus fellow Premiership strugglers Bath, current lead rugby consultant Diamond – who arrived at Sixways in late November – will take over as director of rugby from Alan Solomons. The pair will stay in touch.
“I have known Alan a long time, he is a great guy and he introduced me to Worcester. I will keep in contact with him moving forwards. I have done so for the last 20 years. I hope he puts his feet up in Northern Ireland and relaxes but I can’t see that happening. He is a peculiar one who can’t keep still. I enjoyed myself with him, a good guy, knowledgable and always there as a support mechanism not only for me but other members of staff and players.”
