Willis facing nine months on sidelines after knee op
JACK Willis has revealed how long it will be before his return to action from a second major knee injury of his career.
The 24-year-old Wasps flanker is documenting his rehabilitation journey in a series of videos posted on to his personal Instagram account, which has more than 32,000 followers.
In episode one of ‘The Rebuild 2.0’ Willis revealed the injuries he suffered while on England duty during the Guinness Six Nations victory over Italy.
More than 160,000 people viewed the video as Willis described the damage suffered to his left knee included tearing his MCL [medial collateral ligament] off the bone as well as major meniscus and medial meniscus damage.
A month later, episode two has now been published with Willis confirming he faces nine to ten months on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on February 25 – placing the best-case scenario of him returning to action being November or December this year.
In episode two, the England international also discusses his withdrawal symptoms from his pain relief drugs and his first day back at Wasps’ training ground.
It is the second time in Willis’ career he has been forced to go down the long and arduous road of rehabilitation from a major knee injury.
His sparkling form in the concluding months of the 2017/18 season earned a first senior England call-up for the summer tour to South Africa. But in his very next game, the Premiership play-off semi-final against Saracens, a ruptured ACL and a fractured ankle ended his season.
He returned to action briefly in the 2018/19 season but a recurrence of his ankle issue prompted another spell on the sidelines.
Willis returned with a bang in the 2019/20 campaign, topping the Premiership’s turnover charts, scoring 13 tries and earning himself an England recall after helping inspire Wasps to a Premiership final.
He earned his third cap off the bench against Italy and within minutes landed Test try number two. But disaster struck when Italy forward Sebastian Negri used a controversial ‘crocodile roll’ to clear Willis from competing for the ball at a breakdown, leaving him in agony on the Twickenham Stadium turf.