INJURY FEARS FOR RL RETURN
Leading physio issues stark warning over rushing rugby league players back
CONCERNED Castleford Tigers and England physio Matt Crowther is worried about the amount of injuries Super League players will inevitably suffer when they return after lockdown.
The competition will resume on August 2 after more than four months off due to coronavirus.
Players have been furloughed in that time – essentially left to their own devices with coaching/ medical staff also on leave – and some may only get three weeks of training before playing matches.
In the NRL, there has been a raft of injuries in the few weeks since they restarted, prompting questions about whether Super League can learn any lessons on how to best prepare following such an unprecedented lay-off.
However, Crowther believes the domestic competition here is starting from a more invidious position and there will be little anyone will be able to do to avoid a glut of injuries.
In an exclusive interview with
he said: “The first thing is the amount of time players have off. We’ve had a lot longer than the NRL. A lot longer.
“And their season had only been two games old so they weren’t battle-hardened like us who’d seven or eight matches.
“Also, they only actually had a few weeks off on lockdown with Covid which, again, is so different to us; I don’t want to glean too much from what they’ve done.
“The other point, though, is it’s very hard to gauge exactly what individuals have done. Normally you monitor every single thing in training; from wellness to screening, injuries, metres, GPS… the science that goes behind it these days is unbelievable. But we’re not allowed to do that (being furloughed). To go from that to the guys having to mentally tune in and challenge themselves again after cycling or running...
“Nobody’s ever done this before. That’s the uncertainty.”
Asked if he would be worried about excessive injuries in the first few weeks back, Crowther said: “I definitely would be.
“I think it’s going to be very, very tough as you have got to have understood exactly what the players have done away from you.
“Usually we do monitor them every single week of the year. Even on their off-season they have little plans; we know what they’re doing. Now it’s different.
“You look at the Australians and a lot have been trauma injuries – unlucky ones – but they’ve picked up a lot of soft tissue stuff as well. Our game’s hard to manage with injuries anyway, never mind having had all this time off.”
The former Hull FC winger, who scored a try in Sheffield Eagles’ famous 1998 Challenge Cup final win over Wigan Warriors before being forced into early retirement, feels it will be a testing period for all clubs.
“From a physical perspective, I fully trust our lads to keep on top of their game,” he continued, with Castleford likely to resume training on July 20.
“The hard bit when we come back is if we haven’t got a long period of time to get the contact right. That is massive in our game and if we’re on a phased return where we aren’t going to get contact straight away, and just a couple of weeks instead, then that will be tough.
“Then you throw the new rules in there – if they come in – and you are looking at a different game.
“Then add the additional games in that we’re going to have to catch-up on midweek and then you can start talking about injuries as we are expecting a lot, especially when we start doubling up on games. We’re fully expecting to have to use our full squad. I think every team will be.”
Crowther says Castleford and all other clubs will be “picking the brains” of Canberra Raiders’ staff during a webinar today.
But the 46-year-old Yorkshireman added: “I don’t want to get massively caught up in what they’re doing as it is different. I follow the NRL and feel their game is unbelievable after coming back; it looks like they’ve had an extended pre-season.
“Whereas ours comes back after about a third of our games and we’re starting from scratch.
“But it’ll be great to hear the mental side of things and how they got the boys tuned in on the
FITNESS FEARS: The NRL has suffered a spate of injuries since resuming fixtures, and physio Matt Crowther, inset, expects there to be similar problems when Super League restarts next month.
return to training perspective, as that’s very similar.”
Crowther is relishing getting back to work and added: “We’ve got our RFL guidelines and they’re under review every week.
“What they call maintenance treatment and soft tissue massage – which the lads would have weekly – all that now comes under the essential bracket.
“We’ll have to wear PPE and I’m looking forward to getting back to that essential stuff; I’m very hands-on and you do miss it.
“Luckily, we will have a fully fit squad to come back as we’ve had no surgeries or anything, just a few niggles.”