Dowson delivers Saints injury latest ahead of PREM battle with Bath
Curtis Langdon is set to be out for a ‘considerable amount of time’ after having surgery on the thumb injury he sustained during the Investec Champions Cup quarter-final defeat at Bath on April 10.
Langdon was forced off in the first half at The Rec and the news is not good on the England hooker, who has been hugely unfortunate with injury during the past year.
The 28-year-old suffered a shoulder issue towards the end of last season and he required surgery to rectify that problem, ruling him out until March 8 this year, when he made his return from the bench in a PREM Rugby Cup semi-final loss at Exeter Chiefs.
That was the first of five appearances, two of which have been starts, for Langdon in this campaign, but he has now been sidelined again.
At Tuesday’s media session ahead of the sold-out home Gallagher PREM game against Bath on Saturday (kick-off 5.30pm), Saints boss Phil Dowson said: “Curt has had an operation so he’s a considerable amount of time off.”
Saints also lost Tom Pearson to injury during the defeat at Bath.
Dowson said: “Tom Pearson is recovering from a broken hand.”
When asked whether the duo could play again this season, Dowson said: “There’s always a chance.”
He jokingly added: “We’ve got a faith healer coming in.”
Saints will be without skipper George Furbank this weekend.
Dowson explained: “George Furbank will be out this weekend because of a retrospective HIA (head injury assessment after the game at Exeter) and it’s frustrating because he’s been playing so well, but we also want to make sure we look after him.”
Alex Coles continues to progress in his recovery from the ankle injury he picked up on England duty in March, with Dowson saying: “He’s getting better.”
James Ramm is also on the comeback trail after he suffered a hamstring injury in the Champions Cup round of 16 win against Castres Olympique on April 3.
"He’s going to be a couple of weeks off,” Dowson said.
Scrum-half Tom James is another hoping to return sooner rather than later, with Saints head coach Sam Vesty saying last week: “He’s starting to get in and amongst moving in and around in training but he’s not (ready) quite yet.”
Trevor Davison and Edoardo Todaro are out for the season due to knee injuries, but Saints have the chance to bring back some of their rested players this weekend, with the likes of Danilo Fischetti, Luke Green and Rory Hutchinson available to return.