Earls’ recovery ‘phenomenal’

KEITH EARLS has been praised for his phenomenal powers of recovery in overcoming an injury that could have ended his Lions tour.

Lions head doctor, Dr James Robson, yesterday revealed the pain and drama that went on behind the scenes between Earls’ error-strewn debut in Rustenburg and his try-scoring second appearance a week later against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

“Keith Earls and Riki Flutey are two players who, in the past, would almost certainly have been off the tour. I really thought they were going to be the first players out of Africa,” said Dr Robson.

“Keith did phenomenally well to return to play on Saturday and score that try. He had almost had the kind of collision injury you see in a car accident when a seat belt snaps across your chest.

“He damaged his shoulder joint and had very deep bruising across his chest. It is testament to his character, and the hard work of the physio Phil Pask, that he is still on the tour.

“Phil inflicted a huge amount of pain on the young man with some very deep muscle massage therapy. So, seeing him score the try was fantastic.

“The professionalism shown by the whole squad in their injury management is the best I have ever seen. Keith was having treatment about six times per day from first thing in the morning to last thing at night.”

Flutey damaged the back of his right knee during his appearance as a replacement for Earls in the opening game against the Royal XV, but will report back to full team training today and be available for his first start against the Sharks on Wednesday. Shoulder injury victim Martyn Williams is the only other worry but he is set to return to action this week.