England international Tom Curry to undergo stem-cell therapy for chronic condition in bid to make 2027 World Cup
Published 11/12/2024 at 10:11 GMT
England flanker Tom Curry will miss Sale Sharks' Champions Cup match on Friday to undergo stem-cell therapy on a chronic hip condition, with the procedure part of a plan to get him ready for the 2027 World Cup. The 26-year-old missed months of last season after career-saving hip surgery, returning for the summer tour of New Zealand and the Autumn Nations Series internationals.
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England flanker Tom Curry will endure more time on the sidelines following a cutting-edge stem-cell procedure to manage a chronic hip condition.
The 26-year-old will miss Sale Sharks' Champions Cup clash with Racing 92 on Friday to undergo the procedure, which forms part of a long-term plan to manage his injuries and get him ready for the 2027 World Cup.
Stem-cell therapy is a relatively new method of treatment which can repair damaged tissue in the body.
Curry missed the majority of last season to undergo career-saving hip surgery, before returning to feature in England's summer tour of New Zealand and the Autumn Nations Series internationals.
The procedure "isn't a cure, it's like a medicine," Sale boss Alex Sanderson told BBC Sport. "It's to help the bone growth of his previous operation; injecting stem cells into his hip.
"It's a week completely doing nothing while the bone grows, and then he is back to running."
Alongside England head coach Steve Borthwick, Sanderson mapped out a plan to manage Curry's campaign after his expected return to action around Christmas.
RFU rules limit England players to 30 games a season, but Sanderson said the flanker - who started England's Autumn Nations Series matches against New Zealand, Australia and Japan - would play fewer in order to manage his injury.
"We put a little bit of a plan together, of which the stem-cell procedure is a part of it, then looked at the rest of the season," Sanderson said.
"He'll feature in around 23 games, and 16 of those will be for us, and the rest internationals. So we have figured all that out so we don't push him to that 30-game max.
"The consideration is he has a chronic injury which he is managing really well, but the more he plays, the less shelf-life he has.
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"We generally go by the principle, it's going to be three games on, one off, or two on, one off. I don't think it's wise [to push him to 30 games]."
The long-term goal of the plan is to prepare Curry for the 2027 World Cup and manage the chronic injury without suffering further setbacks.
"Steve Borthwick looked [at the plan] and is 100% behind it," Sanderson added.
"We want to get him to the World Cup without having another operation."
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