Wales confirms successful surgery on utility back Morgan Stoddart - Rugby news
Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has announced that a successful operation has been performed on the Wales’ utility back, Morgan Stoddart. The player underwent an operation following his shinbone injury,
which he sustained in Wales at last weekend's encounter against England.
England and Wales were playing the first of their two pre-world cup games at Twickenham, London on Saturday, August 6. England won the match 23 – 19, as both teams saw Stoddart to leave the
field on a stretcher and in immense pain.
Providing the details, WRU's national performance medical manager, Prav Mathema confirmed that Stoddart’s left leg was operated at London's Charing Cross Hospital, on Monday, August 08. He
said, “The good news about Morgan is that he has come through surgery successfully.”
Mathema added, “He will now begin his rehabilitation programme back at the Scarlets. He travels back from London tomorrow.”
In replying to a question regarding the length of the rehabilitation period for the injury, Mathema admitted that at this stage of the injury, it is difficult to do the guesswork regarding
the time required by Stoddart to get fully fit. He conveyed his best wishes for Stoddart and speedy recovery.
The injury and the subsequent rehabilitation have ruled Stoddart out of contention for a place in the Wales 2011 Rugby World Cup squad (RWC).
Wales head coach Warren Gatland, has not announced a replacement for the Stoddart, who was a member of his reduced 38 –man preliminary squad for their 2011 RWC campaign.
However, Wales home match preparations against the visiting English side, received a major boost with the availability of several of their first choice players, who missed out from their Twickenham,
encounter due to the injuries.
WRU has confirmed the availability of the Adam Jones, James Hook, Lee Bryne, Matthew Rees, and Gethin Jenkins for their Saturday, August 13 encounter against the England at the Millennium Stadium.
The trio of Hook, Bryne and Jones has successfully recovered from their neck, knee and toe injuries respectively. All three have returned to full training with the rest of the squad.
Winger Leigh Halfpenny is about to complete his rehabilitation after an ankle injury he sustained earlier and is expected to participate in Wales pre-World Cup game against Argentina. Similarly,
hooker Richard Hibbard who is recovering from his shoulder injury is eyeing the Argentina encounter as his comeback game.
Gatland is not pushing Jenkins for a pre mature return from his toe injury, which he sustained at the start of this year. Gatland avoided playing at Twickenham, as a precautionary measure,
to give the prop an extended layoff to recover.
Additionally, Stephen Jones, who was withdrawn from the match 22 just before the start of the August 06 encounter, due to minor calf strain, has recovered and will play in their upcoming encounter
against the England. Wales’ captain and first choice hooker Mathew Rees, who was sidelined due to the neck injury, is expected to be named in the match 22.
However, the final decision regarding the selection of duo in the in the match 22 will be taken later in the week.
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