England prop Andrew Sheridan said he’d suffered a “big blow” in being ruled out of the World Cup, but added it would be great if the team could win the tournament in his absence.
Sheridan’s World Cup came to an end yesterday as a result of a left-shoulder injury the prop suffered in England’s 13-9 win over Argentina in their Pool B opener in Dunedin last weekend.
He is now set to return home for treatment, subject to approval by the tournament medical director, and will be replaced in England’s 30-man squad.
England manager Martin Johnson has yet to decide who’ll take the place of the 31-year-old Sale front-row, who came off after just over an hour of the Argentina match, with Matt Stevens filling in at loosehead prop.
Sheridan, whose career has been blighted by shoulder problems, said in a Rugby Football Union statement issued yesterday: “It’s a big blow to leave the World Cup through injury, but it’s a significant injury to the shoulder, so I have to deal with that and get on with it now.”
“I didn’t know the exact incident that had caused it during the game; initially it just felt a bit sore, but a couple of days post-match it was still pretty painful and that’s when I had the scan on it,” he said.
Sheridan added: “I think everyone knows shoulders are quite complicated structures. It takes a lot of work, and a lot of work from the physios and the conditioners as well, to get players back from shoulder injuries. I have to wait till I get back home and see the surgeon — I am quite well acquainted with him now. He will give me some good advice and see if I need an operation and what the next stage is.”
Sheridan, a member of the England side that lost 15-6 to South Africa in the 2007 World Cup final, said winning the trophy at this edition would be great, but stressed how the squad’s attention couldn’t stray from their second pool match, against Georgia in Dunedin on Sunday.
“Like everyone in England — I think — it would be great if we could win it, but it’s about looking to the next game -— the old cliche. We’ve got a good team, but we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves at this moment in time. I just want to wish the boys all the best,” he said.
England’s 2003 World Cup-winning captain and team manager, Martin Johnson, said: “It’s really sad for Sheri. He has been unlucky with injuries and we wish him all the best for his recovery. We brought five props, so we have options there, and we can bring another player out, but we will decide what to do about that in due course.”
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