{"id":138913,"date":"2025-09-15T12:57:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T12:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/138913\/"},"modified":"2025-09-15T12:57:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T12:57:13","slug":"tom-curry-played-lions-tour-without-a-ligament-in-his-wrist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/138913\/","title":{"rendered":"Tom Curry played Lions tour \u2018without a ligament in his wrist\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

We knew Tom Curry was battling through the pain barrier for the British & Irish Lions this summer but only now has the full truth been revealed: he was \u201cbasically playing without a ligament in his wrist\u201d.<\/p>\n

As The Times reported last week<\/a>, Curry is unlikely to be seen in action until England\u2019s November fixtures, missing Sale Sharks\u2019 early-season games as he slowly builds back from the surgery to his right wrist he underwent four weeks ago.<\/p>\n

He had decided not to opt for an operation at the back end of last season as there would be no time to recover for the Lions. Curry often dismisses the chance to provide more details about his fitness in the heat of the season \u2014 \u201cI\u2019m fine\u201d is his stock answer, despite various misfortunes from his degenerative hip issue to this dodgy wrist.<\/p>\n

However Alex Sanderson, his director of rugby at Sale, has revealed the true extent of Curry\u2019s latest issue. \u201cEvery time he was going to a tackle, it [the wrist] was, like, dislocating,\u201d he tells The Ruck, The Times\u2019s rugby podcast, which will preview the new Gallagher Prem season next week.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was basically playing without a ligament in his wrist. You could feel it clicking in and clicking out. Super hard, isn\u2019t he? Superhuman. It defies logic, really, but he\u2019s always been one of those guys that can push himself through pain barriers that most mere mortals can\u2019t. He\u2019s just shown that again.\u201d<\/p>\n

This new context makes Curry\u2019s performances in the Lions Test series, in which they defeated the Wallabies 2-1, utterly remarkable. Equally, as much as you can admire him deeply for this, it is reasonable to feel uneasy about just how prepared he is to play through considerable pain. Sanderson falls on the side of admiration, and always has done.<\/p>\n

As for Curry, he never doubted that he would strap up and play on.<\/p>\n

\"Tom<\/p>\n

Curry steps inside Australia scrum half Jake Gordon to score for the Lions in the second Test in Melbourne<\/p>\n

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER MARC ASPLAND<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew about five or six weeks before the tour that it was there,\u201d he says. \u201cThe question was either get it operated on before the tour or crack on. Obviously the competition was so high so we couldn\u2019t really risk the surgery. There was no other choice. In hindsight, I\u2019m glad we did it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had surgery four weeks ago, to repair a ligament which was gone. It was alright to manage. The Saturday was just a local anesthetic so you actually couldn\u2019t feel it, it was more the Monday to Friday. It got there in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

One issue was the strapping he had to wear to protect himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had this cast which we had to change in Sydney, because we realised that I wasn\u2019t actually catching that many balls,\u201d Curry says, laughing at himself now. \u201cWe had this thick one that covered my palm and it was really tough because I had to catch it with my fingertips. I remember playing in the Argentina game [in Dublin in June] and I kept dropping it. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnyway, we got it right. It kept getting bigger and bigger, and it covered the back of my wrist, which definitely helped as you could actually feel the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Tom<\/p>\n

Curry was not 100 per cent fit for the series but was still one of the best players from either side<\/p>\n

DAVID DAVIES\/PA<\/p>\n

Curry could have quite easily been named man of the series, but that honour went to Tadhg Beirne. He kicked off the series with a belting tackle on James Slipper within the opening 20 seconds, and Beirne won the turnover at the next ruck, Finn Russell kicked the penalty for a 3-0 lead and the tone was set.<\/p>\n

Watching at home, knowing he was not remotely 100 per cent fit, Sanderson was \u201cin awe\u201d of Curry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s Tom at his best,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s with a poor wrist and on the back of a lot of pressure as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Curry was fuelled by a perception \u2014 created for him by the Lions management \u2014 that everyone doubted and disrespected his talent, and thought Jac Morgan should play instead of him, when that was not the case. That narrative worked a treat, as Curry had a stormer as the Lions beat Australia 27-19 at the Suncorp Stadium. Afterwards, Curry was still fuming at the perceived criticism, giving a series of one-word answers in a post-match interview.<\/p>\n

\"British<\/p>\n

Curry is unlikely to return to action until England\u2019s autumn internationals in November<\/p>\n

BILLY STICKLAND\/INPHO<\/p>\n

The next question for Curry, Sale and England will define the next stage of his career. How to manage Curry or to save him from himself? We know he will always agree to play, so who will protect him when he really should not? <\/p>\n

Curry played in 29 matches for club, country and Lions in 2024-25, one game under the suggested player match limit. He starred in the Six Nations for England, helped Sale to the play-off semi-finals and then dominated for the Lions. The plan worked.<\/p>\n

He is still only 27, but needs such careful management. Curry is, then, the bellwether test of whether club and country can work together under the new Professional Game Partnership, where England stars are on hybrid contracts, giving the national team a greater say over their level of activity. <\/p>\n

But, like other coaches, Sanderson believes that means England should sometimes miss out on Curry, rather than it always being Sale. <\/p>\n

\"Sale<\/p>\n

Curry played in 29 matches for club, country and Lions in 2024-25, one game under the suggested player match limit<\/p>\n

DAVID ROGERS\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the ongoing conversation that we\u2019ll have with Steve [Borthwick, England head coach],\u201d Sanderson says. \u201cEngland have preferential jurisdiction over his medical rehab and his physical development. They get to choose \u2014 and they should, in that sense, because they\u2019re paying money towards his contract \u2014 to prioritise the World Cup and internationals.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the moment, it\u2019s up to us to come up with a plan around Tom over the next two years or certainly over the next season. Last year, it worked for him. And looking back at it, he probably played a few games more than we would have wanted him to, still under the 30-game threshold. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut given the ferocity at which he plays, we were thinking maybe 25 games and he was pushing that 30-game barrier. So there\u2019s still work to be done. I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll get to a decent compromise.\u201d <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s hoping that when Curry returns in November, he stays as close to 100 per cent fitness as possible. Imagine how well he could play then?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We knew Tom Curry was battling through the pain barrier for the British & Irish Lions this summer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":138914,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-138913","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-rugby","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}