All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick has confirmed that he suffered nerve damage when he dislocated his shoulder last month and feared the added complication would cost him his Rugby World Cup spot.
The former World Rugby Player of the Year
sustained the injury during the All Blacks 16-16 draw with the Springboks during
the Rugby Championship and admitted he was still doubtful about his chances
less than a week ago.
“Up until probably five or six days ago I wasn’t that hopeful. I knew that they had been thinking about taking four locks and giving me a chance to come right but I wasn’t sure. I was actually listening to the announcement on the Radio Sport app,” he said while speaking to Radio Sports.
He went on to reveal that the nerve damage
left him without full feeling in his hand but with the progress he is making at
the moment he hopes to be back in action before his projected return which is for
the quarter-final stages of the competition in Japan.
“I’ve made a fair amount of progress over the last four or five days and if it keeps progressing then hopefully come four or five weeks’ time I should be able to play again. The one real thing that’s holding it up is that I did a bit of nerve damage when the shoulder dislocated. A couple of fingers were numb and a deltoid [shoulder muscle] wasn’t working that well. The shoulder itself is getting stronger but being without that function was a concern. I’m starting to get that feeling back now so hopefully it keeps progressing,” he added.
Retallick will be hoping to bounce back as
the All Blacks look to secure a third Webb Ellis Cup in a row when they head to
Japan next month.
While Retallick aims to be back later in
the tournament the rest of the 31-man squad are preparing for their opening
game on the 21st of September against the Springboks. They will be hoping to not only kick-start
their tournament but get a bit of pay back on their old rivals for their star
locks injury.
