Corbisiero to go under the knife
England and British and Irish Lions prop Alex Corbisiero faces a lengthy spell out of action after his club, Northampton, said Thursday he required knee surgery.
Earlier in the week, Corbisiero was ruled out of England's Test against the All Blacks at Twickenham on Saturday, but hopes of a quick return to action for the 25-year-old were dashed by Dorian West, a member of Jim Mallinder's coaching staff at Northampton.
However, West was quick to point out the injury was not the same one that sidelined Corbisiero for much of last season before he produced a superb all-round display, including scoring the opening try, in the British and Irish Lions' series-clinching 41-16 third Test win over Australia in Sydney in July.
"I think he's having a cartilage operation and it's his good knee as such that he's having it on this time," West told the Northampton Chronicle and Echo on Thursday.
"Hopefully they'll tidy it up.
"He'll work hard. He's a good player, he's a bright lad, he knows what he needs to do to get himself back into the right shape to play and I'm sure he'll do that quicker than people expect."
Asked when Corbisiero might return to action, West replied: "You never know with things like that. It depends what they've done to him, what the recovery time is and what rehab he can do.
"There's lots of different issues but he's surrounded by good people and he'll be back as soon as possible."
AFP
