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England’s hopes of Six Nations glory were given a major boost today when captain Chris Robshaw was told he did not need surgery on a shoulder injury.
Robshaw saw a specialist in London this week and Harlequins director of rugby Conor O’Shea has been informed that surgery is not required and the flanker could be back in action within a month.
A combination of rest and rehabilitation exercises will allow the England captain to be ready in “three to four weeks” according to the specialist, to lead his team against Wales in the Six Nations opener in Cardiff on February 6.
The news will be greeted with relief by England head coach Stuart Lancaster who does not have to appoint a new captain for the most important Six Nations campaign of his tenure with the Rugby World Cup looming in September next year. Robshaw highlighted his importance with a series of impressive performances during England’s Autumn tests with New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and Samoa.
Quins, who face Leinster away in Dublin in the Champions Cup tomorrow night, will be without Robshaw for that match, the home Premiership game with Newcastle Falcons and the match against champions Northampton at Twickenham. Club officials hope Robshaw could make it back in time to regain the No7 jersey against either Leicester in the league on January 10 or the Champions Cup home pool match with Wasps on January 16.
He will also miss the away game with struggling London Welsh at the Kassam Stadium on January 4.
The news will allow Lancaster to name his captain in the Six Nations squad at the start of January and with Premiership and European games that month, the players will be able to get back into high intensity action.
Quins can replace Robshaw with flanker Luke Wallace but England cannot replace their captain who has proved to be effective at the break down against the best, despite being described by many as a six and a half rather than a specialist seven.
