New injury worry for Wilkinson

This guy's career is going down the tubes big time! Nearly feeling sorry for him... nearly :p

From eecho.ie

Jonny Wilkinson’s injury nightmare tonight returned to haunt him and raise fresh doubts about his immediate international prospects for England and the Lions.

Wilkinson was carried from the field just 34 minutes into his comeback match for Newcastle against Zurich Premiership opponents Harlequins at The Stoop.

The England and Falcons fly-half had been sidelined for nine weeks recovering from an injury to his left knee, but he flew home to Tyneside tonight with further fitness concerns surrounding the same knee.

England’s World Cup hero will undergo a scan and see a specialist in Newcastle tomorrow, after which a clearer picture will emerge about whether he will play again this season.

England complete their RBS 6 Nations Championship campaign against Scotland at Twickenham next Saturday, when Wilkinson could conceivably have returned for his first Test appearance since the World Cup final, but that is now inconceivable.

Clive Woodward is said to announce the Lions squad to tour New Zealand on April 11 – they leave for New Zealand on May 25 – and he will be anxiously monitoring developments surrounding Wilkinson.

Wilkinson looked in fine fettle during his time on the pitch, kicking two penalties and a conversion before he was left prone after attempting to tackle Quins prop Ceri Jones.

And when Wilkinson went off, Newcastle capitulated as they sunk to a 39-23 defeat.

Newcastle rugby director Rob Andrew refused to be drawn tonight on the possible extent of Wilkinson’s latest injury blow, but the initial suggestions were that it might not be as serious as the knee problem which surfaced in early January.

Since the World Cup, Wilkinson has found himself hit by injuries to his shoulder and neck, bicep and knee, raising serious questions about his long-term future in the game.

Andrew said: “Until we actually know, it’s pointless making any statement about it. He will go back to Newcastle tonight, have a scan, and see the specialist tomorrow. Having the scan done is the starting point. It may be that it’s not that serious.

“If you remember the second Lions Test in Melbourne in 2001, when Jonny went off injured in that game, it looked as though he was going to be out for months, but he played in Sydney the following week.

“He looked sharp out there today. His goal-kicking was incredible, his kicking out of hand was good and to me, he was looking good for someone who had been out for nine weeks.”

Wilkinson’s injury completed a miserable day for Newcastle, who also lost number eight Semo Sititi with a suspected broken jaw and lock Craig Hamilton with a potentially serious shoulder injury, and it left Andrew to question the wisdom of playing club games during international periods.

He continued: “We just can’t continue playing throughout the Six Nations. It is just not feasible, and somebody has got to look at this for everyone’s sake. It’s about the credibility of the league, and the whole player issue.

“There are just not enough players to go around, and we need to look seriously once and for all at the season and stop beating about the bush. At the moment, we are just going around in circles, and it is not getting us anywhere.

“It is not helping England, Andy Robinson or the Rugby Football Union, and I don’t think it is helping the league.”

Robinson is due to announce the team for the Scotland game tomorrow, and had Wilkinson been sent, then there was a strong chance that he might have featured, probably on the replacements’ bench.

In his prolonged absence from the international arena, England have suffered, losing more games than they won, and slipping to the worst Six Nations season in their history on the back of successive defeats against Wales, France and Ireland.

Wilkinson, with more than 800 points in 52 Tests, has been an instrumental figure for his country over the past five years, but there was a depressing atmosphere around the Newcastle camp tonight as their star man once again faced a difficult 24 hours waiting to learn his fate.