1
'Heartbreaking': Wasps confirm uncapped England prospect Odogwu has torn his ACL
By Liam Heagney
Struggling Wasps have announced the latest setback in their difficult season, the loss of uncapped England prospect Paolo Odogwu to an ACL injury that will take a considerable length of time to mend. Odogwu had been one of the few bright spots in the Coventry-based club's troubled campaign where they are struggling to finish high enough to qualify for next season Heineken Champions Cup just eight months after contesting the 2019/20 Gallagher Premiership final against Exeter at Twickenham.
The 24-year-old, who was initially courted by Italy over the winter, turned down the Azzurri in the hope that he might get picked up by England boss Eddie Jones. This is precisely what happened in January, Odogwu getting chosen in the 28-man squad this year's Guinness Six Nations.
Odogwu finished the campaign without earning a debut cap but that situation was set to be rectified by this summer's series where England will host the USA and Canada at Twickenham while their front-line stars are away with the Lions in South Africa.
However, Odogwu won't now figure in the England squad that Jones will announce on June 10. A starter at outside centre last Saturday for Wasps, he limped out of the Premiership defeat at Northampton with less than 30 minutes remaining and was replaced by Jimmy Gopperth.
Wasps didn't give much of an update on Tuesday at their weekly media session ahead of next Saturday's must-win trip to London Irish, except to say that Odogwu was having his injury scanned that afternoon. The results of that scan have now emerged and it is unlikely the popular back will be seen in action for his club until 2022.
A Wasps statement read: "An MRI scan has revealed that Paolo Odogwu sustained a tear of his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during Saturday’s game against Northampton Saints. He will be seeing a knee specialist on Friday for assessment and management planning. Everyone at Wasps wishes Paolo all the best for a speedy recovery."
Odogwu added: “This is obviously a heartbreaking end to probably the best season of my life, but these things happen. There is a long road ahead, but we move on and, of course, stay composure.”
Trending on RugbyPass
2
Jake White: Ireland, Australia and Wales have the same problem
3
David Campese names his Springbok world player of the year winner
4
Let's be real about these All Blacks
5
Latest Comments
i think Argentina v France could be a good game too, depending on which Argentina turns up. The most difficult to call is Scotland Australia.
Go to commentsSmith is playing a different game with the rest of the backs struggling to understand. That's the problem with so called playmakers, if nobody gets what they're doing then it often just leads to a turnover. It gets worse when Borthwick changes one of them, which is why they don't score points at the end. Sometimes having a brilliant playmaker can be problematic if a team cannot be built around them. Once again Borthwick seems lacking in either coaching or selection. I can't help but think it's the latter coupled with pressure to select the big name players.
Lastly, his forward replacements are poor and exposed either lack of depth or selection pressure. Cole hemorrhages scrum penalties whenever he comes on, opponents take advantage of the England scrum and close out the game. Is that the best England can offer?
Go to comments