'It was very frustrating' but Joey Carbery staying positive despite fresh injury woe
STAYING POSITIVE: Union Bordeaux Bègles’ Joey Carbery suffered another injury recently. Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie
Injury woes may have followed Joey Carbery to Bordeaux Begles but with a new start to life after Munster, the fly-half is determined to stay positive as he looks to prove his worth to his new employers.
The former Ireland playmaker was just 41 minutes into his Top 14 debut when disaster struck a man for whom dealing with injury was as commonplace as playing following his move from Leinster to Munster in 2018.
Carbery, now 28, managed just 66 appearances in red over six seasons with the southern province and when the opportunity came to turn a new page in his playing career, joining an all-star cast at UBB proved impossible to ignore.
Carbery is targeting a comeback in two weeks, perfect timing in his quest to establish himself as the focal point of a multi-talented Bordeaux backline with clubmate Mathieu Jalibert expected to be away with France for the Autumn international window and the Irishman has been determined not to let the negativity of being sidelined affect him integrating into his new club environment nor distract him during his recovery.
"I couldn't believe it when it happened again, to be honest,” Carbery said as he represented UBB at Tuesday’s EPCR Champions Cup preview day at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
“But I'm doing a few things differently now to prevent hand injuries and stuff like that because I always seem to pick them up around there. So if I can do a bit more work on that area hopefully nothing else will happen there, touch wood.
“Hopefully another two weeks and I'll be back out there. It was very frustrating, in my first game. Look, it's a good time to learn a bit more French I suppose, put a bit more effort into that but it's very frustrating.
"I was really enjoying getting out there with the team and getting to know them and I can't wait to get back out there."
Carbery accepted that his ill fortune with injury was tough to deal with psychologically having been hit hard by wrist and ankle injuries as a Munster player from 2019-21 only to damage an elbow four games into his comeback and miss a further four months. The setbacks have taught him resilience and the importance of positivity.
“It’s really hard and this time it’s been particularly tough because everything was starting to click but it’s just focusing on stuff I can control. Like, this is a hand injury, I can still run, I can still kick so just doing as much as possible, trying to be a better kicker, a quicker runner. It’s something you can focus on rather than just dwelling on what you can’t control. That’s helped me a lot.”
Now Carbery is ready to finally show Bordeaux what he can do.
“I think so, especially as I only lasted one half of my first Top 14 game. Not that it’s going to change anything in my approach but I just think I need to go out there and show them exactly what I’m about. So I’m just hoping to come back from this injury and get a run of four or five games and see where that takes me.”
He explained just exactly how he is trying to protect his injury-prone hands and wrists.
"It's just different ways of strapping it and also falling techniques and different grip strengths, stuff like that. It's stuff that I hadn't done before when I probably should have done it, considering I'd had a few injuries on my hand.
“Practicing and strengthening your wrists and your hands for when you fall because that’s how I think I hurt my hand, when I got tackled and fell. It’s something that I haven’t practiced and a boxer would do it a lot to strengthen their hands because they get a lot of hand injuries.
"My physio spoke to a professional boxer and got a few tips for me so I might be coming out with the gloves. But he’s looking into it so hopefully next week I start cracking on with that and I’ll be good to go in a week or two.”
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