’Long road ahead’ for Cooper after double operation

In one foul swoop, Colm Cooper had surgery on his ruptured cruciate and fractured knee in Dublin on Friday.

It had been expected Friday’s operation would only extend to his fractured right knee with a further appointment later in the month for his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) with surgeon Ray Moran.

However, the 30-year-old posted a photograph of himself post-operation on Twitter. He added the caption: “Delighted to say that the surgery on my knee fracture and ACL is now complete! Long road ahead!”