Scans have revealed that Exeter back-row Tom Johnson has a grade three medial collateral ligament tear which could sideline him for three months.
Johnson admitted he feared the worst when he suffered a sickening injury against Leinster in the Heineken Cup match at Sandy Park last Saturday.
He was carried off on a stretcher 15 minutes into the 29-20 defeat to the European champions from Ireland, with what appeared to be a knee injury.
"The way it was, the way the Leinster player fell on me, it could have been nine months out, so it's much better than it could have been," he said.
"It's pretty much fully ruptured. There's a little bit of the ligament still hanging on but I think, all in all, I'll take that.
"I was thinking it was a long-term injury when it happened. At least this means I'll hopefully be back before the end of the season.
"It can be a week either way, depending on the rehab, but there are many things that could happen on the way back. As a very rough estimate you tend to say ten or 12 weeks, but there's no real way of knowing.
"I'm just thanking my lucky stars at the moment, that it's not going to be as long as I thought. Then hopefully, I can kick on when I get back fit again."
Comments
markpat says...
He needs to ensure he doesn't rush back from a knee injury. Better to come back a little late than too soon and end up with recurring problems.
Posted 13:51 25th January 2013
Jediboy says...
Shame. Great player. I wish him a speedy recovery.
Posted 21:28 23rd January 2013
melkdave says...
OUCH,not good news for England or Exeter,Lets all hope he recovers quickly ,and fully refreshed for the end of season battles and for Englands summer tour to Argentina,which i think is going to be a mouth watering series to rival even the Lions .
Posted 14:11 23rd January 2013
APV1 says...
Bah!
Get well soon - we'll need you for the summer tour.
Posted 11:45 23rd January 2013
rugby_rockstar says...
Should be back for the tour to Argentina, which is a real silver lining because I expect Tom Wood and Chris Robshaw will be in Australia.
Posted 10:52 23rd January 2013