Filed under: Rugby Union, Rugby World Cup, Internationals, England Rugby
A month before the first game in preparation for a World Cup may seem a strange time to have knee surgery, but that is exactly what England scrum-half Ben Youngs has done.Youngs has had keyhole surgery to trim cartilage from his left knee but has been assured the operation should not put his participation in the World Cup in doubt.
It is a calculated risk for the Leicester Tigers man, especially as he will miss at least one game of the warm-up double-header against Wales - and there are three other No.9s who would love to take his place in the starting XV.
The operation is one that professional sportsmen glibly refer to as a "clearout procedure", one that is not necessary to ensure a normal daily life, but one that cleans up the knee joint so as to avoid further injury, lack of movement or discomfort when playing top-level rugby.
The reason for the timing of the operation is not known - especially as he could have had it done almost a month ago, straight after Leicester's last game of the season which was the Premiership Final on May 28.
The operation will take six weeks to recover from, meaning he will be out of action until the middle of August. By which time England will have reconvened for a training camp and may have already played Wales twice, as they are scheduled to meet the principality on August 6 and 13.
This of course means he could have just one game, against Ireland, to prove to manager Martin Johnson he is worth a starting spot.
The RFU are predicting Youngs to be back on his feet in time and released a statement which read: "Ben will continue his rehabilitation with the England medics in consultation with their Leicester counterparts. A full recovery is expected as quickly and as safely as possible under the guidance of the surgeon."
Youngs, 21, has made the scrum-half spot his own alongside his Tigers team mate Toby Flood at fly-half, since making his first test start against Australia last summer.
He has Harlequins' Danny Care, Richard Wigglesworth of Premiership champions Saracens and the uncapped London Wasps man Joe Simpson breathing down his neck for the scrum-half spot. And all three will have eyes on wresting the starting position away from him for the opening World Cup game against Argentina on September 10.
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