Hartley’s future in balance
England captain Dylan Hartley is in doubt for the summer tour to South Africa after Northampton refused to put a time-frame on his return from a concussion he sustained against Ireland.
Two years ago, Hartley said that he feared his career could be over if he suffered another head blow, after he missed 14 weeks of the season through two separate concussions.
The 32-year-old admitted that he did not remember lifting the 2016 Six Nations trophy after being concussed in the Grand Slam-sealing victory over France.
Hartley has not played for Northampton, who suffered a chastening nine-try defeat to Saracens last weekend, since being replaced in the 57th minute of the 24-15 loss to Ireland on March 17.
With three Aviva Premiership games remaining, Northampton interim head coach Alan Dickens offered no guarantee that Hartley would be back in action this season.
‘‘Dylan reported concussion symptoms after the Ireland game so it is one of those where he will go through the return to play protocols as everyone else does,’’ Dickens said.
‘‘In terms of the focus on the concussion now, it is a concern for all the players and that’s why they are so stringent in terms of the return to play. We will do what’s right for Dylan.
‘‘They start (the process) every week. He’s had the week off where we didn’t play after the Irish game. He is going through that process.’’
In the 2015-16 season, Hartley missed six weeks after a collision with Saracens No 8 Billy Vunipola, before being knocked unconscious tackling Uini Atonio in the final Six Nations match against France, which restricted him to just 16 minutes of game time for Northampton in the remainder of the campaign.
Speaking after that second concussion, Hartley said that another such injury could cause him to reevaluate his options.
‘‘If I got another one now, I would be worried,’’ Hartley said.
‘‘I would probably start looking at other careers or stuff like that, or maybe a long lay-off.’’
Under the graduated return-toplay protocols, a player must pass six stages of the rehabilitation process without displaying further symptoms of concussion.
Speaking two years ago, Hartley described the frustration of not being able to make any progress.
‘‘I thought, ‘Right, it’s been a month now and I’ve done absolutely f--- all, I’m going to go and get on my Watt bike’,’’ Hartley said.
‘‘I put all my kit on, put my water bottle on – and I just couldn’t get on the bike.
‘‘I’d no urge to get on the bike. I almost tried forcing myself to get on the bike and I just said, ‘I can’t be bothered’, went back to lie on the couch and went to sleep. Then I knew that I wasn’t right.’’
England head coach Eddie Jones has already intimated that he will rest of some of his Lions contingent in the summer.
Forwards Courtney Lawes and Nathan Hughes have already been ruled out of the three-test series against the Springboks.
There was some good news for Jones to digest from Saracens’ fourth successive battering of Northampton this season, in which loose forwards Nick Isiekwe and Maro Itoje were excellent.
The standout performance was delivered by Alex Lozowski, nominally a fly-half who used his searing pace to great effect at outside centre, which could provide Jones with an alternative playmaking option.