England star Sam Underhill OUT of Nations Championship Tests as Bath issue injury update
Sam Underhill (pictured) is set to undergo surgery on a bicep injury, Johann van Graan has confirmed.
Bath and England star Sam Underhill will miss November’s Nations Championship Tests, with the back-rower set to undergo surgery on a bicep injury.
The 30-year-old forward was taken off just 48 minutes into Bath’s 33-17 win over Harlequins on Friday night, which marked his comeback after missing England’s July Tests with a shoulder issue.
‘He will get operated on on Thursday’
Speaking directly after the match, head of rugby Johann van Graan detailed it was a ‘potentially serious’ injury, and following scans, it has now been confirmed he will need surgery.
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“There are a few types of injuries where I want to know straight away,” said Van Graan. “That’s why I went straight down (to the tunnel).
“At the time it was very much, ‘we need to wait for the scan, but this could be a bicep rupture’, and the scan turned out to be exactly that. He will get operated on on Thursday.”
While there has been no official confirmation of the length of his upcoming layoff, Van Graan detailed it will be at least ‘a few months’ until he can take to the field again.
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“That’s a few months out of the game, so it’s not ideal from Sam’s point of view,” the head of rugby said. “But as with every player who gets injured at this club, we’ll do our best to get him back as soon as possible.”
“It is always disappointing for every player when you get injured in round one, because you have just come through a big pre-season and you are just getting started. But injuries are part and parcel of this game, Sam has had a few big ones and I am sure he will be back as soon as possible and we are looking forward to welcoming him back, whenever that is in December or January.”
Underhill is not the only Bath man facing a lengthy absence from the team, either. New signing Jamie Bhatti will also be sidelined for a number of months after fracturing his arm in their pre-season clash with Glasgow Warriors, while there is no timeline on Will Muir’s return at the time of writing. The winger underwent shoulder surgery in the off-season.
In better news, Louie Hennessey and captain Ben Spencer are set to return to action in October, with the Welsh international likely back at the beginning of the month while the England scrum-half will likely return in late October, while Vilikesa Sela is also expected back around late November.
Thompson Cowan is also making a return to training following his ACL injury, with Bath hopeful he could feature in November’s PREM Rugby Cup block.
