‘Tentative’ timeline set for Ethan Hooker’s return after Welsh wing’s dogshot on Springboks star
Sharks back Ethan Hooker clutching his shoulder and an inset of Ospreys' Luke Morgan's actions that caused the injury.
Springboks back Ethan Hooker is hoping to be available for their opening Test of The Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks in three months’ time.
The Sharks powerhouse is currently on the sidelines after suffering a dislocated shoulder following Luke Morgan’s dogshot during the United Rugby Championship clash in April.
That ruled him out of the rest of the Durban outfit’s campaign while it will also impact South Africa’s start to the Nations Championship.
He will not make the July Tests against England, Scotland and Wales, as well as the warm-up fixture with the Barbarians.
However, the 23-year-old could return to face New Zealand with Rapport stating that a ‘tentative’ timeline has been set.
Hooker has had surgery to correct the issue caused by Morgan’s actions and is therefore expected to be out for around 10 weeks.
Sharks angry
There was plenty of fallout from the controversial incident with Sharks boss JP Pietersen left angry by the Ospreys wing’s cheap shot, who dived on top of Hooker after the Springboks star had touched down for a try.
“Ethan’s injury was a massive blow for us,” Pietersen said last month. “After scoring a try, the rules say you are not supposed to dive on a player and rules are there to protect players and sadly that did not happen.
“He dislocated his shoulder. He is a massive presence for us and to lose him after the first half was very disappointing and frustrating.”
Sharks’ ‘official request’ over Ethan Hooker incident rejected as URC closes matter
The Sharks requested that it be investigated by the United Rugby Championship, but Morgan was not cited due to the incident not reaching the red card threshold.
Well respected former Test referee Nigel Owens agreed that it was not worthy of the Ospreys speedster being banned, but did state that it should have been penalised.
Despite the try being looked at by the officials, they did not take issue with the actions of the 33-year-old with it going unpunished.
‘Dangerous and illegal’
“What is illegal is needlessly coming down on a player after they’ve already scored a try. That becomes foul play,” Owens wrote in his WalesOnline column.
“There’s no doubt what he did was dangerous and illegal.
“This incident has in a way highlighted the issue, and unfortunately the fact it resulted in an injury is probably the reason why. If Hooker hadn’t have been injured I’m not sure anyone would have really been talking about it.
“At the very least it should have been a penalty on halfway, although I think in this case there’s an argument to say it should have been a penalty and a yellow card.
“I don’t think it’s a red card, although the injury has prompted some to make that argument, but I think you’ve got to referee the action rather than the outcome.”
