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Tom Curry will miss the entire Six Nations and most likely the rest of the season after Sale revealed he must undergo surgery to repair a hip injury.<\/p>\n
Curry has been troubled by the issue since playing a full part in helping England finish third in the recent World Cup and a visit to a specialist confirmed that a clear out of the joint is the only option.<\/p>\n
The 25-year-old flanker, an automatic pick for England when fit, will undergo the operation the week after next.<\/p>\n
Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson said: \u201cTom has been back down to London to have further extensive x-rays under movement with a different consultant and this is the best thing for him in the short term.\u201d<\/p>\n
The setback continues a turbulent period in Curry\u2019s career that saw him miss the Six Nations because of a hamstring injury and then sit out the build-up to the World Cup through ankle ligament damage.<\/p>\n
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England\u2019s Tom Curry faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines <\/p>\n
A red card for a dangerous tackle against Argentina in the tournament opener resulted in a two-match ban, before his appearance in the semi-final against South Africa was followed by the fallout to his allegation that he had been racially abused by Bongi Mbonambi. He earned his 50th cap in the bronze final.<\/p>\n
Now the all-action back row is facing a lengthy spell of rehabilitation, forcing England and Sale to look for alternatives to fill the void created in their back rows.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it sounds long-term – the season – but it\u2019s not,\u201d Sanderson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s still a young lad and it\u2019s the best thing for him in the short-term to ensure he\u2019s able to be more robust moving forward and to train and progress his game the way he wants to.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe level of stiffness hadn\u2019t flagged up to this degree until this point in his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has always been hip stiffness there and an element of managing his load because he will just empty the tank and this time he was doing the same thing but just not recovering and wasn\u2019t able to do it again and again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe red flags were out that maybe there was something deeper here and apparently there is.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure there will be ebbs and flows over the next four or five months and I hope to be part of that journey with him as we get him back to where he needs to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was no chink in the invincible armour that is Tom Curry. It was like, \u2018right, let\u2019s get it done. Let\u2019s go\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n