Jack will still be the lad for us during recovery – insists Blackett
WASPS BOSS PLEDGES TO MAKE SURE INJURED STAR FEELS VALUED
WASPS plan to keep Jack Willis ‘heavily involved’ in the club during his injury rehabilitation process.
The flanker could be out for up to a year after undergoing surgery on February 25 after injuring his left knee playing for England against Italy.
Willis revealed to his near 30,000-strong Instagram following last week that he had torn his MCL ‘off the bone’ as well as suffering meniscus damage.
He stopped short of revealing the length of his rehabilitation period but had earlier speculated it could be between six and 12 months.
It’s the second time in the 24-yearold’s career he has faced a gruelling spell on the sidelines having fractured his left ankle and his right ankle in May 2018 – which stunted his career for 18 months. Lee Blackett was an attack/backs coach at Wasps when Willis suffered his first major setback but, since February 2020, he has been the club’s head coach and in a year has seen the talented back-rower become the Premiership’s player of the year and earn his first England caps before this massive blow.
He remains in regular contact with the player but conceded there was a fine line when it came to getting the communications right.
“There are certain conversations that will stay between us,” said Blackett. “As to where he gets involved and where he doesn’t get involved. It’s so hard. You don’t want to chuck things at him, you need to give him time to get over it, but I also want him to feel valued, and heavily involved still. It’s such a fine balance all the time. We will just have to judge where he is that day, that week, where he is, how he’s feeling.
“It’s a tough one, at times we will get it wrong, at times we will get it right, but the thing with Jack, is, he’s pretty honest, he’s pretty up front with what he wants.” Willis requested Wasps stopped giving updates on his injury and instead opted to document the process himself using videos posted to his Instagram account.
The first of which, entitled: ‘The Rebuild 2.0, Down but not out,’ has received more than 155,000 views and gained widespread support from the rugby union community and beyond.
Among the watchers was his club boss Blackett, who Willis consulted before embarking on the project.
“I thought it was a good, honest video,” he said. “We know Jack, everyone is very tight with him and the guys who have been at the club have seen him go through that hurt. I thought it was quite honest.
“I think it opens people’s eyes. People probably don’t see that side of it. They don’t understand how down these guys can get.
“Jack will have positive days and days when he is really down and upset. I think it’s great for people to see. I think it’s going to be a good journey, an eye-opener for supporters as well to see exactly what these guys go through, especially when they’re injured.”
We will just have to judge where he is that day, that week, where he is, how he’s feeling. It’s a tough one
Lee Blackett