Despite liquid diet, Garry Ringrose keeping bright side out

Garry Ringrose at the launch of Aviva’s Ireland’s Call competition at the Aviva Stadium. Picture: Dan Sheridan

Garry Ringrose seems in good form for a man who has been sucking his meals through a straw for the last two weeks.

He’s already through the worst of his latest injury blow, his admirable eagerness to block down a clearance from Italy’s Edoardo Padovani last month resulting in a broken jaw. Having also broken a thumb in the first round fixture against Scotland, Ringrose managed just 67 minutes from a possible 400 across the 2020 Six Nations.

As Andy Farrell prepares for Friday’s visit of Wales, Ringrose has been holed up at home following doctors orders to stick to a liquid diet as the uncomfortableness of the metal plate and two screws inserted into his jaw begins to ease.

“It’s been monotonous enough, a few protein shakes, lentil soups, vegetable soups, chicken soups, pretty much anything I get it into me so I don’t lose weight,” Ringrose says.

His injury history makes for painful reading: Broken bones, shoulder surgery, ankle tweaks, hamstring strains.

“To be fair, in terms of pain it’s actually not that bad,” he says of the newest addition to his injury CV, however a return for the latter stages of the Autumn Nations Cup seems “unlikely”, with Leinster’s Champions Cup opener on the weekend of December 11 the more realistic target.

“As frustrating and tough as it was getting the news, finding out the extent of it, then coming in and seeing someone like Jordan Larmour when I get back into Leinster and he’s out for whatever, three months, maybe slightly more, or Max Deegan who’s coming out of his ACL op, who’s out for six or so months. When you’re training alongside them in UCD, you realise that 6/7/8 weeks, whatever it will end up being, it could be worse.”

Even if this international window is a write-off, there’s plenty for Ringrose to look forward to in the near future. The centre was in fine form following the rugby restart in August, and he can take encouragement from his track history of hitting the ground running when coming back from injury.

He also falls into that elite group of players who can see the Lions summer tour carrot dangling in front of them.

“Is it an ambition of mine? Definitely. Any kid dreams of representing the Lions and I’m no different.

“Do I think about it regularly? Not necessarily, because the kind of mindset I’ve always had is just focus on the task in front of you, whether it’s a training session or a game that weekend. What should be on my mind is the immediate challenge.”