We still don't know the exact details of Jamie Heaslip's injury that has seen him miss the end of Leinster's season and is part of the reason why he will miss what would have been his third Lions tour, and it's going to stay that way, at least for the time being.
The Leinster man was a guest on Off The Ball on Monday night where he explained that he was keeping this matter private, despite the curiosity around the injury which first came to light late in Ireland's 2017 Six Nations campaign.
I don't particularly like talking about my medical history on a national broadcasting station [laughs], I'm taking it week by week, obviously not the ideal time to get my first serious injury of my career but that's how the cards have fallen for me. The way this is, you've got to take it week by week. Pretty slow.
It had been reported that Heaslip underwent surgery on his back, but even that has not been confirmed after the discussion.
When the news broke, there was a lot of confusion and even suggestions that the truth was being withheld, but Heaslip and the IRFU remained tight-lipped and that must be respected.
When asked about the moment the injury occurred, Heaslip insisted that he didn't know the exact moment, before revealing that things quickly escalated to the point where his long-term health was in danger.
We actually don't know, that's the best answer I can give you without telling you what I actually did. I really didn't know, but when we realised what it was and we dove into it, I had a scan on the Sunday [after the England game], and then had a revision medical on the Thursday and I was in for an op first thing on Friday morning.
Yeah it was [more serious than he thought].
It just didn't progress the way we wanted to and it got into some pretty serious territory very quickly. It would have had some really long term consequences, permanent consequences.
It all sounds rather alarming.
Some had hoped that Billy Vunipola's withdrawal from the Lions squad would pave the way for Heaslip to be called up, but it seems as though it was never an option as the man himself does not yet know how his injury will progress in the coming weeks, much less Warren Gatland.
On a more positive note, Heaslip revealed that because he acted fast, he is on course to make a full recovery, we just don't know when. There may be a point in the future where the number eight decides to talk about the injury he sustained having gone the guts of a 12 year senior career without one, but for the moment we must respect his privacy.
You can listen to Heaslip's chat with Off The Ball in full over on Newstalk.ie.
