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Romain Ntamack takes huge step in recovery from World Cup-ending injury
By Josh Raisey
France fly-half Romain Ntamack has stepped up his recovery from the ACL rupture which ruled him out of the World Cup by returning to the training paddock this week.
The Toulouse star shared a video of himself on social media in boots running on what appeared to be synthetic grass as he ramps up his recovery from his knee injury. Alongside the video, he shared the caption "boots on, first return to the field."
The 24-year-old was one of the major casualties for France, or indeed any team, ahead of the World Cup after rupturing his ACL in a warm-up match against Scotland in August and underwent surgery soon after. Though this is a step in the right direction, Ntamack's return to playing is still likely to be months away given the nature of ACL injuries.
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In an interview with French publication Le Parisien earlier this month, the 37-cap international said he is targeting a return to playing at the end of March or the beginning of April, which would rule him out of next year's Guinness Six Nations. Fabien Galthie will also be without Ntamack's half-back partner Antoine Dupont, who will be switching his attention to rugby sevens for the Paris Olympic Games.
"I’m careful because I don’t want to skip steps," he said.
“I never set a date, but seeing how things are going, I think I will be ready at the end of March, beginning of April.
“Doctors say that when you approach eight months after surgery, there is no risk of relapse."
France of course crashed out of their home World Cup in the quarter-finals in Ntamack's absence, being narrowly beaten by eventual champions South Africa at the Stade de France. On the domestic front, Toulouse will still have to manage without their No10 as they aim to climb up the Top 14 ladder, although they have made a great start to their Investec Champions Cup campaign, beating Cardiff and Harlequins.
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You have got to consider that if the situation was flipped and the French were held to a salary cap with no English equivalent, the English would laugh in their faces and tell them to get over it. As for Leinster (as a fan), the central contract system is a dream but is guilty of cutting out the other 3 provinces. At the end of the day, it comes across outside of the English border that the Premiership is drowning and trying to take everyone else with it rather than adapt. The English lose, the English want new rules. We've seen this repeat (and once it even led to the current Champions Cup) You make many good and informed points, but if the flip was on the other flop, it wouldn't be Rugby’s problem I suspect - it would be a French one.
Go to commentsSeems to have been a bright start but it tailed off. To win the big matches you have to get used to putting your foot on the throttle and your opponent’s necks in an 80 minutes performance which is what the All Blacks were renowned for. An example in the Women’s game is England v Ireland in the 6N match played at Twickenham in April. Watch on YouTube.
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