Te’o: Please God, let me stay healthy
INJURY-PLAGUED Ben Te’o is crossing his fingers Eddie Jones has not given up on him after the England centre conceded defeat in his race to be fit for the start of the new Gallagher Premiership season.
Te’o missed England’s series defeat in South Africa with a thigh injury he initially sustained during last season’s Six Nations.
He aggravated the injury during a pretour gym session with Jones’s squad in May and underwent surgery, which has now ruled him out of next week’s domestic kick-off.
Teo’s concern is that being out of sight might also mean being out of the mind of the England coach. While he was invited along to England’s pre-season training camp in Teddington by Jones at the start of the month, the lines of communication have gone quiet since.
“I saw him at the Lensbury camp but he hasn’t been texting me for a while so I don’t know what’s going on,” said Te’o.
“I wish I’d been there in South Africa to contribute. Ten days before I was in the gym gearing up for it so when you’ve been wiped out, had surgery and you’re sitting at home watching it, you’re just sad.
“South Africa was a tough place to go for them and they didn’t get the results but I was proud to watch them in the third Test. That was a good performance.
“I haven’t got a return date yet. I’m working through the rehab stages and as long as that goes smoothly I’ll be back in the early part of the season, but I need to make sure it’s right before I come back.
“I just want to get back fit, stay fit and play as many games as I can. It’s a World Cup year, so please God, let me stay healthy, enjoy my rugby and get through the season. I’d love nothing more than to go to Tokyo and experience a World Cup.”
Te’o has been unable to string together a sequence of games, playing only 24 matches in two seasons for Worcester.
The knee surgery was his second operation in less than a year after the ankle issue last October which sidelined him for four months.
The uncertainty over Te’o comes at a bad time for Jones with another of his midfield options, Jonathan Joseph, already ruled out of the autumn internationals.
Like Te’o, Joseph was on the operating table earlier in the year – undergoing ankle surgery – rather than the plane to South Africa and he will be unable to return to action until late November, by which time the Springboks, New Zealand, Japan and Australia will all have played at Twickenham.
The absence of Te’o and Joseph could perhaps see the international door reopen for Manu Tuilagi, who last started for England four years ago.
Like his midfield rivals Tuilagi also underwent an operation in the off season – they are all the rage in a rugby union summer – but the 27-year-old was back in the Leicester side last night for a run-out in the friendly against London Irish after his knee clear-out.
“Manu is doing really well and should be involved very, very early in the season,” said Leicester coach Matt O’Connor.
“He carries the ball a lot for us. He is a huge focus for the opposition so we are just trying to make sure he is that little bit more resilient around playing as many games as possible for us.”
It is difficult to believe he will ever be the same force of nature who battered the All Blacks at Twickenham in 2012, but a reinvigorated Tuilagi would be a huge boost for England leading into next year’s World Cup.
SALE have decided not to appeal against the sevenweek ban imposed on wing Chris Ashton for a tip-tackle on Rory Kockott in a friendly against Castres.
NEWCASTLE prop Scott Wilson has been forced to retire at the age of just 24 due to a neck injury sustained in last season’s Premiership’s semi-final against Exeter.
NORTHAMPTON yesterday announced a £2.8million loss for the past financial year.