TIGERS STAR FACES LAY-OFF
PROP WILL BE OUT OF ACTION UNTIL NEW YEAR
LEICESTER Tigers are set to be without prop Ellis Genge until the new year as he continues his recovery from a knee injury, writes Matt Davies.
Genge, 23, was hurt during England’s tour of South Africa last month and returned home early from that three-Test trip.
He has since had surgery and head coach Matt O’Connor says his recovery is on track.
“We’re probably looking at him playing again in the new year at this stage,” he said. “He’s working hard. The recovery and the rehab is on course.”
Tigers are making good progress in the hunt for a replacement for Genge, either on a short-term basis, or something more permanent.
O’Connor admits the salary cap is something that restricts his options, but is confident an announcement can be made soon.
“We’re looking at that, we’re trying to get the balance of that right when it comes to both sides of the scrum,” he said.
“There are a couple of guys available. It’s just trying to sift through and work out the best fit.
“We should be able to make an announcement soon. Thankfully, you get dispensation for guys who are out for three months or more. That gives us a bit more flexibility. We’ll keep looking and hopefully we can get a good fit moving forward.”
Other Tigers players have had surgery in a bid to be fit for the first Premiership game of the season on September 1 against Exeter.
Among them was second row Graham Kitchener, who carried a hip injury through long parts of last season.
He is also making good process as O’Connor praises the club’s medical staff, who are back at Oval Park working with the squad following their return for pre-season training.
“The medical staff and conditioning staff do a fantastic job. I think we had the best injury numbers in the league last year, which is really pleasing,” he said. “We’ve not had any injuries in training, which is great.
“There are other guys who have had surgery that most of the fans know about. They’re on track for their returns at set dates and working hard.”
Notable faces are still missing from the camp after playing for their countries at senior level in recent weeks, but those who went away to the Under-20s World Cup are back and O’Connor says that is good news for the overall preparation.
“It’s good to get the 20s back this week. We had the five English lads and a couple with Scotland,” he said. That’s given us a boost and a better shape to what we’re trying to do.
“The guys are working really hard. The Test boys are two weeks away, but we’re building towards the season.”