Shark Marland is willing to go the extra Yarde
TIME’ THIS SEASON
MARLAND Yarde’s career is back on track as he prepares for Sale Sharks’ opening Gallagher Premiership match of the season tomorrow.
And after spending nine months out with a career-threatening injury, the former England winger has set himself a target of reaching new heights.
“I’m not trying to be as good as I was last time, I want to be better than that,” he told M.E.N. Sport.
Last October, the 27-year-old dislocated his left knee and ruptured his MCL and ACL ligaments in a horror injury while playing against Newcastle.
He was told he could be facing 18 months out, but after hard graft and dedication, he came off the bench two weeks ago against Wasps in the Premiership Rugby Cup.
It is, says Yarde, the ‘greatest achievement’ of his career. “The reality is, I could have lost my career altogether,” he said.
“It was that much of a serious injury.”
Even before this major injury setback, it had not been a straightforward career for Yarde as he was released by Harlequins.
But his move to Sale in 2017 opened a new chapter.
And before his injury he was starting to live up to his potential with eight tries in 10 Gallagher Premiership appearances.
Now, over a year later, he is back and looking positively ahead to the new season, which kicks off for Sale against Gloucester at the AJ Bell Stadium.
“I’m entering that prime phase of my career now, I’ve lost the last year but I’m keen to make up for lost time,” he said.
“If I can go on and keep performing and playing well for Sale in the next few months and get back in the England squad, then that would be the dream.” And Yarde believes that, if it wasn’t for his injury, he could well be in Japan with the England World Cup squad adding to his 13 caps and eight tries.
If it wasn’t for such an unfortunate injury, his good club form might have been enough to force his way into Eddie Jones’ World Cup thinking. “It was disappointing, especially the way I was playing at the time but it’s part and parcel of the by-product of the game, you can’t really foresee injuries,” he added.
Marland Yarde