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Emirates Western Force captain Nathan Sharpe will miss approximately four to six weeks of pre-season training after undergoing laparoscopic surgery on Saturday to repair a hernia.
A decision was made by Sharpe and the club’s medical staff to have the procedure done immediately to give him every opportunity to be available for the start of the 2011 Super Rugby season.
“Nathan first brought it to our attention on Friday morning and we acted decisively to have him operated on Saturday,” said Head Coach Richard Graham.
“The length of recovery is between four to six weeks and in this case we believe we’ve given ourselves the best chance to have Nathan available for the first competition game against the Queensland Reds on Feb 20.”
Sharpe has already begun his road to recovery after being released from hospital today and will follow a specialised programme designed to have him back on the field as soon as possible.
“Our medical and strength and conditioning staff has mapped out a return to play programme which will see Nathan make a progression from walking to light cardio then to training and ultimately full contact,” Graham said.
“Nathan has just recorded a career best body composition score and under the guidance of our conditioning team he was in fantastic condition. They’ll ensure he comes back ready to go.”
The Emirates Western Force will play trial matches starting in a fortnight and coaching staff can call on the services of second rowers Sam Wykes, Tom Hockings and youngster Phoenix Battye as well as the versatile Ben McCalman who is no stranger to playing lock after standing alongside Sharpe on numerous occasions last season.
“Nathan’s injury is just part and parcel of sport and you just need to deal with each case individually,” said Graham.
“We are fortunate to have a depth in the second row and I have every confidence in those players to take on the roles that will be asked of them during the period Nathan is unavailable.”
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