Joe Marler candidly gives reason for 'slower than expected' recovery

Joe Marler did not shy away from the truth recently when explaining why his recovery from a broken foot has been "slower than expected".

The England and Harlequins loosehead prop sustained the injury in the first Test between England and the All Blacks in July, with his club head coach Danny Wilson expecting him to be out for 12-14 weeks.

“It’s going to be a 12-14 week injury, it’s not a 12-weeker where he can come back in nine," Wilson said in August.

"It’s an injury that will take that amount of time. That at the moment hasn’t changed, but I need to get to the bottom of it from today’s assessment because he’s had a bit more assessment today.”

As a guest on TNT Sport's coverage of Arsenal's Premier League clash with Brighton on Saturday alongside club and country teammate Marcus Smith, Marler gave an update on his progress with the new season fast approaching.

"Slower than expected," Marler said when asked by host Jules Breach how the recovery was going.

"That's probably because I've been non-compliant with the non-weight-bearing. I was supposed to be non-weight-bearing and in a boot for four weeks and I've been away for five weeks with my wife and four kids. So when they said you've got to be off your feet for four weeks sat on your bum doing nothing, I said 'can you tell my wife that? Because that's not happening.'

"And of course it was festival season, so I had to go to a lot of festivals. So it's been a bit slower than expected. I'll be back soon, let's go with that one."

Harlequins get their Gallagher Premiership season underway against Sale Sharks on September 22 at the Salford Community Stadium, and while the 34-year-old will miss that, he will be targeting a return before Steve Borthwick names his England squad for the Autumn Nations Series.