I’ll be back, says Lydiate after Wales injury woe
DAN Lydiate has eased fears for his future by pledging to make it back from the devastating knee injury that’s ruined his season.
The blindside flanker had defied the odds to reclaim his Wales position after a two-year absence at the age of 33.
But he lasted only 13 minutes in the Six Nations clash against Ireland before leaving the field with ligament damage that will keep him out for the rest of the campaign.
There were even fears in the immediate aftermath that the anterior cruciate ligament problem Lydiate sustained might lead to one of Welsh rugby’s most popular players calling time on his playing career.
But he has since undergone surgery and felt able to tell his followers on Twitter that he plans to return to rugby.
His post runs: “Just want to thank everyone for their kind messages. On the road to recovery now and as Arnie famously once said: ‘I’ll be back.”
The news will be particularly well received by the Ospreys. Welsh rugby’s tackling king had won the supporters’ player-ofseason award for 2019-20 at the Liberty Stadium and been to the fore over the first half of the current campaign.
Lydiate started strongly against Ireland, making seven tackles in the opening 10 minutes before fate intervened.
News of his determination to make a comeback will cheer his Ospreys team boss, with Toby Booth saying at the region’s weekly press call, after being asked if he felt Lydiate would return: “It depends on the individual and the mindset of the person.
“I’m sure there was stuff written about Dan Lydiate when he was out of the international arena a few years back.
“I hope we’ve created an environment that he really wants to thrive in and be in.
“He’s the fittest he’s ever been and he’s making 30 tackles a game, so it really depends on Dan.
“If he can’t play for medical reasons then that’s a different scenario. But I can assure you the mind is certainly willing.
“All the time the mind is willing and the body is able, Dan Lydiate will play for the Ospreys.”