Joey Carbery suffers agonising setback on Top 14 debut after hopes of a ‘fresh start’

Jared Wright
Munster fly-half Joey Carbery kicking.

Munster fly-half Joey Carbery kicking.

Former Ireland and Munster playmaker Joey Carbery has suffered another injury setback in his first appearance for Bordeaux Begles.

The 28-year-old hoped to put his injury struggles behind him after leaving Munster to join the Top 14 club this season but he looks set for another spell on the sidelines.

Joey Carbery’s injury

Carbery made his Top 14 debut this past weekend starting at fly-half for Bordeaux’s clash with Lyon.

However, the Irishman’s debut was curtailed shortly after half-time as he was replaced by French international Matthieu Jalibert.

This after suffering a suspected hand fracture according to Bordeaux’s head coach Yannick Bru.

“His hand swelled up a lot. There is a suspicion of a fracture. Despite his good performance, we were forced to replace him,” Bru said after his side were pipped 28-26 after a clutch Leo Berdeu penalty sealed the victory for Lyon.

The injury is set to sideline him for several weeks in what is just another agonising blow to Carbery who has had more than his fair share of injuries throughout his career.

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Fresh start

He made the ‘extremely tough’ decision to leave Munster and Irish rugby at the end of last season after being overlooked for the 2023 Rugby World Cup and the two previous Six Nations campaigns.

During his five-and-a-half-year stint with Munster, after joining the side from Leinster, he made just 61 appearances.

The 37-Test playmaker’s longest stint on the sidelines came in 2020 when he struggled with a wrist issue and had surgery on a long-term ankle injury. That kept him out of the game for a full year.

Even just last season, Carbery missed Munster’s final games of the season after sustaining a thumb injury in the last round of the United Rugby Championship regular season.


“I’ve had a bad run of injuries down there and I suppose for it to end like that, it kind of summed it up,” Carbery told RTE Sports in July in reference to that final injury at Munster.

“But look, I’m hoping that this little injury is the last one for a while, so I can push on forward.”

He added that he was hoping that his move to France would give him a clean slate.

“Like when I have got a run of games that’s when I’m at my best and I know I won’t get injuries as much because you’re more likely to pick up injuries when you’re playing here or there and your body’s not used to the hits and the impacts,” he said.

“I’m just hoping to put a fresh start down and get a run of it.”

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