Haskell suffered meningitis scare

Editor

Wasps captain James Haskell was initially told he might have meningitis when he was rushed to hospital last week.

Wasps captain James Haskell was initially told he might have meningitis when he was rushed to hospital last week.

The back row hasn’t featured for his club over the last fortnight, and had to undergo extensive tests when the doctors thought he was suffering with viral meningitis.

However after a week in hospital, Haskell was released, and he was able to watch Wasps’ Champions Cup game with Harlequins from the stands.

He is however still recovering from the ordeal and was not able to participate in a training session with England this week as they prepare for the November Tests.

“It was weird really, it just came upon me,” he said.

“There were a few jokes about man flu and stuff like that but I think I probably had man flu for about three days.

“The Wasps doctor came and visited me at home and said: ‘There’s something wrong with you.’ I said: ‘We all know that, but there’s something more wrong than normal.’

“I went to hospital and they thought that I had meningitis, that was the big concern that they had. That’s why they put me in an ambulance. They were saying: ‘You can’t mess around with that.’

“They knew it wasn’t bacterial meningitis but they thought it might be the viral version because I had all the symptoms of it.

“They weren’t sure what was going on so they did a lumbar puncture and took fluid out of my spine, and did numerous blood tests.

“They couldn’t work it out, but they just thought I had a terrible virus and all the symptoms of viral meningitis, with a bad migraine and all the other symptoms that went with it.

“For me it was very frustrating because I’m not used to being inactive for that long and just not feeling better.”

Having been in excellent form before this illness, Haskell was back in contention to feature for England in the November Tests, and he’s optimistic that this setback won’t stop him getting a chance.

“I would be extremely disappointed if my illness was a factor in whether I am involved or not,” Haskell added.

“I think that as of Thursday I will be back into the full mix of it. So I don’t think that is going to be an issue.

“The only thing I can say is that if I get into a full training session and I suddenly can’t cope with it, then I will be the first to put my hand up.”