Peter O'Mahony's health is getting confusing. Anthony Foley ruled him out until next season, the day before he was named in Ireland's 44-man training squad ahead of the upcoming South African tour. So does O'Mahony have a chance to play, or is that just a bit of wishful thinking from Joe Schmidt?
Well, the Munster captain himself has revealed what's going on. He's been back in training since last March, and appears to be making big strides. It does seem that he won't play for Munster at all this season - with their final game coming this weekend with no chance of the southern province reaching the playoffs.
But O'Mahony hasn't given up on the summer tour. Speaking at the IRUPA awards dinner last night, the flanker revealed that he will know in 10 days how his recovery from that horrific knee injury is going.
I am very, very close and I’m nearly back training with the squad. I won’t say ‘never’ but I will have to make a decision over the next 10 days, see what the story is. I have been given every opportunity but I am just going to see how training goes over those next 10 days and make a call on the rest of the season then.
O'Mahony suffered a torn ACL injury in the World Cup, and even being back in training right now is a big achievement. Should he come back into the fold, will he be as good as the Peter O'Mahony we know and love?
I don’t want to go to South Africa and not give a good account of myself or of how I can play rugby. It’ll be partly medical staff but I’ve got to be honest with myself and if I’m not right I’ll put my hand up.
Brutal honesty and passion - it's pretty clear that the horrible injury hasn't changed anything about him. We look forward to what he can do on the pitch in the next 12 months.
[Irish Examiner]
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Picture credit: Diarmuid Greene / SPORTSFILE
