A despondency hits you that’s bleak and it can take you to a pretty dark place if you let it
Experience tells me that you cannot second-guess these things
SCOTLAND captain John Barclay has suffered a major setback in his recovery from injury and is now in a race against time to be fit for next year’s Six Nations.
He was expected to return to action by the turn of the year after rupturing his Achilles tendon during Scarlets’ Pro 14 semi-final victory over Glasgow at Scotstoun less than a month ago.
But now the back-row forward, who is Edinburgh’s major signing for next season, has revealed he is facing a longer lay-off than anticipated.
‘On Friday I got the plaster off my left leg, to be replaced by a giant moon boot and I am on crutches for the next six weeks,’ said Barclay, 31, on the BBC website. ‘It’s unclear when I am going to play again.
‘What is very clear is that it won’t be at the start of the season and it won’t be the autumn either. The surgeon says the target is the Six Nations next year, so we’ll go with that. If I’m ready, I’m ready. If I’m not, I’m not.
‘Experience tells me you can’t second-guess these things. The longer the rehab, the greater the unpredictability. There’s a lot of hard months ahead.’
Barclay is determined not to let the injury get him down and, based on previous experience, said it was vital he keeps himself busy during his rehabilitation.
‘There’s a despondency that hits you that’s bleak and that can take you to a pretty dark place if you let it,’ he admitted.
‘If you just have rugby in your life and no outside interests then one of these injuries can send you into a spiral.
‘You can spend a lot of time focusing on the things you are missing out on. You can hang your hopes on a certain comeback date and when you suffer a setback, your mind can struggle to deal with it.
‘Sometimes it is not the physical pain that causes the most damage but the mental. I have a university dissertation to finish by July, ruptured Achilles or no ruptured Achilles.
‘We have a house in Edinburgh to renovate and there are things I can do with Edinburgh even though I am not going to be playing for a while.’
Barclay said Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill had contacted him with a view to the player helping out behind the scenes while he recovers.
‘It is about finding ways to contribute, whether it is mentoring some young players, helping with analysis or gaining an insight into the coaching world, which is where I hope my career will take me when my playing days are numbered,’ said Barclay.
‘I can’t make the kind of mark I’d want to make but there are other ways of helping the team and driving the culture.’
Barclay has been in regular contact with the Scotland coaching team since his injury and will shadow defence coach Matt Taylor during the four-match November Test series while Greig Laidlaw replaces him as captain.
‘Gregor Townsend, Dan McFarland and Matt Taylor have all been in touch,’ he said. ‘Matt knows that when I finish playing I would like to become a defence coach. So he said: “Let’s meet up, we can talk about defence, you can shadow me and see how we do it”.
‘Al Kellock, who has moved on to the business side of things at Glasgow, was on as well. That stuff meant a huge amount. It helped keep the spirits up.
‘Just now, though, I am hanging out in the kind of parallel universe where all players with long-term injuries hang out.
‘I’ve had some incredible days as captain of Scotland over the last while but this is a time when resilience of a different kind is called for. It’ll be a while but I’ll be back.’
Meanwhile, Cockerill has quickly signed up Fijian flanker Senitiki Nayalo, who will be expected to fill the void at Edinburgh while Barclay gets back on his feet.
The 26-year-old former London Irish player has penned a twoyear deal and will link up with the squad when they report back for pre-season training this week.
‘It’s a new chapter of my rugby career and I can’t wait for a new start,’ said Nayalo.
Cockerill added: ‘He’s an abrasive and powerful ball carrier who will undoubtedly add strength and depth to our back row.’