‘I’m not too far away’ – Ryan hoping to return for Leinster’s endgame

It’s the day before Ireland are due to fly to London for their Six Nations clashwithEngland,andAndyFarrell is putting his squad through their paces in what is the final proper training session of the week. James Ryan is part of the defensive line in a non-contact drill that is defined as such because players are not supposed to get injured in them, but as everyone knows, accidents happen, with this particular one later described by Farrell as a “freak” occurrence.

As Ryan reached out to grab an on-running team-mate, the alarming snapping sound and the excruciating pain that immediately followed left him in no doubt that he had done serious damage.

“We were just playing ‘grab’, and Tom Stewart did me with a dummy and it just went, I ruptured my bicep,” Ryan tells the Irish Independent.

“I could feel it straight away. It was very sore for about four or five seconds, but after that it was fine. It was a bit innocuous, it wasn’t in full contact in the middle of a maul or something.

“If I was watching the ball better defensively, it wouldn’t have happened. I caught myself man-watching, so I can only blame myself.

“There wasn’t much slagging (for the dummy) at that point, but I was in a huge cast for like two weeks. It just made it look way worse than it actually was, so there was a fair bit of slagging for that.

“It was a relief to get that off, even just to have a shower properly.”

Concern

Ryan’s initial concern was not necessarily about his tendon, which had completely torn, but rather how long it was going to keep him out for.

The27-year-oldsecond-rowknewthere and then that his Six Nations was finished, with Ireland missing his influence in the ensuing defeat at Twickenham, but with some big Leinster games looming, as well as a summer tour to South Africa, Ryan faced an anxious wait that thankfully was not drawn out.

“It happened on the Wednesday, I got the op Thursday morning, which was a good thing because it meant I could start recovery straight away,” Ryan says.

“But I’m grand. The thing about doing your bicep or an upper limb injury is you can stay pretty fit. If you did a knee or a hamstring, you can’t do as much. I feel like I am in good shape because I am able to keep running and do a fair bit of strength training.

“I’m not too far away, I’m hoping to get back before the end of the season. That’s pretty realistic. Hopefully I’ll be back before the end of the season, all going well, if we keep winning.”

It’s exactly six weeks since Ryan suffered the serious setback, and there is a certain irony that we are sitting inside an eerily quiet home dressing room at the Aviva Stadium, where he has just been signing autographs and taking selfies in the rain with the starstruck kids who were part of the ‘Aldi play rugby festival’.

Four days earlier, this room was rocking, with Ryan joining his Leinster teammates to bask in the celebrations of finally having beaten La Rochelle in a Champions Cup knockout game.

The place looks very different now, but as Ryan looks around he knows it won’t be long before he is back here again, as there is now light at the end of the injury-enforced tunnel.

“It was very satisfying,” Ryan, who is Leinster’s co-captain, says of his side’s big win over the defending champions.

“We have huge respect for La Rochelle and what they have done in Europe over the last number of years, but we needed a big performance and we delivered.

“I’m not a good watcher. I was pretty manic, to be honest. I was just getting very excited, just because it means so much to win in this competition.”

Ryan is doing his utmost to ensure he is able to play his part in Leinster going all the way in the Champions Cup over the coming weeks, but he admits he is “touch and go” for the semi-final against Northampton at Croke Park on May 4.

There is nothing more he would love than being part of what promises to be a special occasion.

“I’d go once every couple of years, but to me, what stands out in Croke Park is the 2009 Leinster-Munster game. I was there with my dad and my two brothers.

“That’s such a huge part of the whole Leinster story. I’ll never forget it, the way they chequered the blue and red. It was just such a big day. That was the day Leinster announced themselves. It’s just so cool to be able to go back.”

Ryan finds himself at an interesting stage of his career in that he recently lost his place in the Ireland team, with Farrell opting for Tadhg Beirne and Joe McCarthy.

Once upon a time, Ryan was in McCarthy’s shoes in that he burst on to the scene, and while RG Snyman is set to increase the competition at Leinster next season, Ryan is confident in his ability to win back his Ireland spot, while remaining a key part of Leo Cullen’s plans.

“It has been grand, to be honest,” he says of being dropped by Ireland. “The way I look at it, competition is a great thing, and obviously there is a lot of competition in the second-row. It can only makeyouabetterplayeristhewayIseeit.

“You think about your game more. You think about your approach and that’s what rugby careers are like. They are full of ups and downs, setbacks, injuries, selections. The best players are the ones who are able to keep bouncing back. So, that’s the perspective I have on it. It’s just about improving and getting better.”

Like his fellow Leinster players, Ryan is looking forward to welcoming Jordie Barrett, who he captained against when the Ireland U-20s beat New Zealand en route to the World Cup final in 2016.

“It’s cool, from what I heard he turned down a lot of money in Japan, he wanted to come and play for Leinster and experience the club,” Ryan maintains.

“That’s pretty cool to be getting someone who really wants to come and add value.”

For now, Ryan is focused on ensuring his bicep is fully repaired before he launches himself back into the business end of the season.

“There is still a huge amount of rugby to be played,” he adds. “I would say the ultimate test is playing over in South Africa. It will be an amazing experience.

“And then with Leinster, what we have got coming up is hugely exciting. We are exactly where we want to be at his point.”