England hopeful suffers ‘season-ending’ injury as Bath issue update on Wales duo
Will Muir (right) will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury
Bath winger Will Muir will miss the rest of the season through a shoulder injury, in a huge blow for both the defending PREM champions and England ahead of the summer tour.
The 30-year-old back suffered a shoulder injury in Bath’s 38-26 Investec Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Bordeaux-Begles, and later missed their trip to Sandy Park after going to see a specialist.
Muir has had a stop-start campaign to date, missing the opening rounds of the season after undergoing ankle surgery, and joins fellow England hopefuls Gabriel Oghre and Billy Searle in missing the rest of the campaign and potentially the summer tour.
Will Muir suffers season-ending injury as England hopes dashed
He had made a pretty strong return from that issue, though, scoring five tries in 11 outings for Bath in all competitions, but he will now go back under the knife to fix his shoulder issue.
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“Unfortunately, Will Muir is season-ending with his shoulder, which is a massive shame,” Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan told the media ahead of their clash with Newcastle Red Bulls. “He’ll get an operation on that at some point this week.
“It’s not great news for Will and for us, but that’s rugby and it’s part and parcel of it.
“He struggled at the start of the season after that injury against Worcester (in pre-season), but he came back, built himself up, and he’s had a fantastic few weeks. Not just in the air, but defensively and finishing some tries. He’s one of the more likeable guys in rugby, so we’re all gutted for him.
“We’ll back him up and hopefully get him back on the field as soon as we can.”
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Bath are well-stocked out wide, though, with Henry Arundell and Joe Cokanasiga both match fit.
“That’s not a return to playing, that’s a return to training.”
While Muir will undoubtedly be a huge blow for Bath moving forward, van Graan has eased any lingering fears surrounding the fitness of centre Louie Hennessey, after he also went to see a specialist regarding a shoulder injury.
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“We hope to have Louie back in training at the back end of next week or the Bristol week,” he said. “That’s not a return to playing, that’s a return to training.”
Elsewhere, it was confirmed earlier this week that fellow Welsh international Archie Griffin will undergo elective surgery, and now the Bath HoR has confirmed it is to fix a foot issue.
“He’ll get it (the operation) done at the end of the season,” said van Graan. “He’ll go off for surgery somewhere in June.
“It’s on his foot, so we’ll take our time with it.”