Tom Croft wants to recover before the next season – Rugby News Update
Tom Croft, the 26-year-old Leicester Tigers and England back-row will not be playing again this season, having injured his neck. This means that he will miss the Aviva Premiership final against the Harlequins and England’s tour of South Africa, where his
country plays a three-match test series, along with two other mid-week games.
However, Croft is taking positives from his injury, saying that his body needs time-off after a gruelling rugby season of 18 months, where the back-row did not have any breaks. He feels that it is a blessing in disguise.
"I am still in a neck brace at the moment and I'll have another couple of weeks with that. It gives me a summer to fully recover though, and you pick up a fair amount of bumps and bruises over a season so I'll get three months to get my body back into shape
and sort my neck out.”
He is keen to join the team pre-season, and is hoping that his team can clinch the Premiership title against the Quins. It will be remarkable for a team that was written off earlier in the season, but the back-row insisted that the team was focussed on winning.
He was naturally upset at being injured at the time of year when the games matter the most. He would have loved to be involved in the final but is scheduled for a return in three months.
"It's pretty frustrating especially with the time of the season we are in now," said Croft. "It's coming up to the finals and the summer tours but it's something you have to get on with.”
The Tigers' back-row is one of the most talented players to emerge in England in recent years. Having established himself in the Leicester team, he earned his first international cap against France at Stade de France, on February 23, 2008.
He had a disappointing 2011 World Cup, but under Stuart Lancaster, the head coach of England, he found his form again at the 2012 Six Nations. He will be a big miss for England on their summer tour.
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