British and Irish Lions hopeful suffers freak ‘scratch and sniff’ injury ahead of pivotal audition
Ben Curry warming up for Sale Sharks in the 2024/25 season.
British and Irish Lions hopeful Ben Curry will miss his final chance to impress Andy Farrell after being ruled out of Sale Sharks’ clash with Saracens due to getting a chunk of metal stuck in his leg.
The back-rower is still a possibility to be included in Farrell’s squad to head to Australia, but with Sale out of the Champions Cup, he will miss his final chance to impress before the squad selection on May 8.
Ben Curry suffers freak injury
Curry has been in inspired form for both England and Sale this season, but now Alex Sanderson will be without his skipper for his side’s crucial clash with fellow play-off hopefuls Saracens.
“It’s a bit of a scratch and sniff injury,” said the Sale boss. “It’s a weird one, I’ve not heard of it before.
“There’s a bit of metal in his leg, which is irritating the muscle, but nothing’s torn. It’s around the site of an old operation where he had the stitches.
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“There’s little chance of him tearing the muscle, but it’s uncomfortable for him.”
But Sanderson remains hopeful that it’s not a long-term issue.
“He’s running around, so hopefully it will have sorted itself out in another week,” he said. “We have given him as long as we could, but he won’t make this game.”
Curry featured in all five of England’s Six Nations Tests earlier this year, starting against Ireland and Wales and forming a deadly partnership alongside brother Tom in Steve Borthwick’s back-row. He also impressed in his brief cameo off the bench against New Zealand in the Autumn Nations Series.
The forward does face some strong competition to get into Farrell’s back-row. Brother Tom is also in the conversation at openside, as are Wales captain Jac Morgan, Ireland’s Josh van der Flier and Scotland star Rory Darge. Toulouse ace Jack Willis is also in contention to tour following some stellar outings in both the Top 14 and in the Champions Cup.
