GASKELL INJURY BLOW
WASPS STAR OUT FOR A MONTH
WASPS second row James Gaskell could be out for up to a month with the injury he suffered against Bristol Bears.
Gaskell hobbled off shortly after the half-hour mark at Ashton Gate and was replaced by Levi Douglas.
The long-serving lock had scored five tries in his previous 10 games leading up to the round 14 clash, but is now set for a spell on the sidelines.
“It’s his calf,” said Wasps head coach Lee Blackett. “But he’d had a lot of stuff through his back. So look he’s got a grade one [tear] and it’s a three to four-week injury. Hopefully three, but it’ll be in and around that.”
Gaskell’s absence for the trip to Newcastle Falcons tomorrow will be softened by the return of Joe Launchbury.
The Wasps captain has missed the club’s last seven games after suffering a stress fracture to his tibia which led to him being withdrawn from England’s Six Nations squad.
“He’s coming through training,” said Blackett on Tuesday. “He’s come through today so we’ll see where he is at the weekend.
“He completed the full session last week, he completed the full session today so if he gets picked, he’ll be getting picked don’t worry! “I could pretend he’s not getting, but he is!”
Another player who could make his return tomorrow is Alfie Barbeary. The back-row/hooker suffered a syndesmosis high ankle injury against Sale Sharks in late December, and has missed nine games so far.
“Obviously he’s been out for longer than Joe,” said Blackett. “So Alfie will be more controlled in the way that we bring him back into the game.
“He’s obviously a bit younger as well, last year he had a serious hamstring issue with the academy and back in one of the A-league games did his hamstring again.
“So he’s someone we have to look after, we can’t bring him back too fast. He has got through the back of the last week, he’s got through this week.
“We might even have got him through to last week’s game, but I think we needed a couple more days of training to make sure he’s right.
“Unless the physio tells me differently in the next half an hour, it looks like he got through today alright as well.”
Blackett gave his squad a threedays break after suffering six defeats in seven games.
The time off appears to have been beneficial as Wasps aim to get back to winning ways.
“I looked out at us and I watched us train,” said Blackett on Tuesday. “It’s the loudest I’ve seen us, the quickest of movement I’ve seen in us.
“Those three days off have been vital for us, I think they’ve really helped us.
“I’ve really started to see us turn, and hopefully now performances will back that up.”
He added: “We will make some changes at the weekend selectionwise, we’ve had that freedom this week with a few more bodies back to make some changes.
“That’s probably been what we’ve not had, there’s not really been the competition for places.”