Wallabies star’s hopes of facing the British & Irish Lions could be in the balance after surgery decision
Wallabies flyer Max Jorgensen.
The Wallabies and Waratahs are sweating over the fitness of young speedster Max Jorgensen after he injured himself in a Super Rugby Pacific clash against the Hurricanes on Friday.
The Waratahs suffered a humiliating 57-12 defeat in Wellington and Jorgensen limped off with an ankle injury in the 13th minute with Lalakai Foketi coming on to replace him.
A concern for Joe Schmidt ahead of British & Irish Lions series
Jorgensen‘s injury will be a concern for Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt ahead of their upcoming series against the British and Irish Lions in July and it looks like the 20-year-old’s involvement in those Tests depends on a decision whether he needs surgery.
He sustained the injury when his left ankle was trapped under Hurricanes defender Brayden Iose as he swung around the back of Jorgensen’s legs.
The Waratahs returned to Sydney on Saturday and Jorgensen went for scans on his injury.
The Sydneysiders’ head coach Dan McKellar said on Sunday it’s a syndesmosis injury, which means there’s damage to the ligaments which stabilise the fibula and the tibia at the ankle joint.
“He’ll definitely be for out for a number of weeks. It’s now just a matter of whether he is going to need an operation or not,” McKellar told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“Hopefully, we see him again.”
Could be sidelined for up to six months
The usual recovery time for mild to moderate syndesmosis injuries is a six to 12-week period. However, it could be between three to six months on the sidelines for ligament ruptures that require surgical repair.
There are still eight rounds of matches left during the league phase of Super Rugby Pacific while the Wallabies’ first Test against the British and Irish Lions takes place in Brisbane on July 19 which is 16 weeks away.
“It was one of those hip-drop type tackles; it was kind of a heart-in-mouth moment because you could see he was hurt straight away,” said McKellar.
Hip-drop tackles are not illegal in rugby union but have been banned in the NRL and NFL.
Exactly a year ago, Brumbies hooker Lachie Lonergan sustained a broken leg after a tackle from Reds scrum-half Tate McDermott which led to calls for a crackdown on hip-drop tackles in the 15-a-side game.
McKellar was asked if he had concerns about hip-drop tackles in rugby union and replied: “That’s for the officials to sort. You just don’t ever want to see young players missing multiple weeks with injury, especially when they’re just starting to perform like Max has this season.”
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