Daly rest cure for Elliot after his star turn on Lions tour
WASPS’ OTHER LION HASKELL WILL MISS FIRST FOUR GAMES FOLLOWING FINGER SURGERY
DAI Young has revealed that neither of his British Lions will be involved in the early stages of Wasps’ Premiership campaign.
Elliot Daly, who played in all three test matches against New Zealand, is in full training, but will be rested for the first two rounds against Sale and Worcester.
Flanker James Haskell will also miss the home clash with Harlequins and the trip to Exeter, but hopes to be fit to face Bath in round five following finger surgery.
Wasps’ boss explained that while Daly is always keen to start every match, Wasps are taking a cautious view in an attempt to safeguard his longer-term well-being.
“While nothing is written in stone,” he said, my understanding is that the recommendation is five weeks off then four weeks pre-season. “Although I wasn’t top of the class in maths, that makes Elliot unavailable for the first two weeks of the season, and that’s something we’re going to adhere to. “We think Elliot needs a rest, otherwise he’s not going to last the season. “You’ve got to be sensible and put the player first. “We did the same last season when a lot of the internationals didn’t play the friendlies, but players don’t like going straight into Premiership games, so it’s a bit of a balance.” Young advised he would have followed a similar approach with Haskell had the finger operation not been required. “Hask had an operation on his finger, and will be out until October,” he said. “He kept on dislocating and breaking it and obviously the more you do that, the more damage is done. “It got to a point where it was dislocating while he was doing everyday things, which was going to cause him a real problem moving forward.
“When the surgeon looked at it, he said the joint was in a real bad way and the operation had to be done sooner rather than later or when he’s finished with rugby, it could be in a real mess.
“He’s not far off full training, it’s just a matter of contact with the thumb really, so once it’s healed he will play immediately.”
We think Elliot needs a rest, otherwise he’s not going to last the season. You’ve got to be sensible and put the player first. Dai Young