'It just went ping' - Saints prop Waller explains injury setback

Alex Waller was always expecting a long spell on the sidelines - he just didn’t know his team-mates would be joining him on the sofa.
Alex WallerAlex Waller
Alex Waller

That is because the prop recently suffered a serious injury in training, snapping his Achilles during scrum practice.

It ended his season and left him with a lengthy recovery process.

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But little did he know that his fellow Saints squad members would soon also have to endure a wait to return to rugby action.

The Covid-19 crisis has meant that the Gallagher Premiership is currently suspended, with uncertainty surrounding a return date.

And that means Waller doesn’t have to watch on enviously as his team-mates take to the field.

“It’s a tough one and completely selfishly I don’t miss as much rugby so it’s not the end of the world for me, but it’s obviously devastating for the boys,” Waller said.

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“We’ve been doing really well this season and we could do something this season, you never know what’s going to happen.

“There will be a lot of games consoles being played, I know myself I’ll be back in the workshop when I can, and it’s the same for Woody (Tom Wood) and some of the other boys.

“Some of the boys will be driving themselves mad because they can’t even really go to the gym.

“It’s a difficult one.

“We’ll have some programmes sent out from our S&C (strength and conditioning) groups and some lads are kitted out at home so they can keep fit.

“You’ve just got to take it as it goes.

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“It’s not the end of the world in terms of the fact it gives lads time to recuperate, time to rest up and it’s just about staying focused with that uncertainty in mind.

“It’s an interesting situation and one no one’s even been in before.

“The most important thing is keeping everyone healthy and stopping this virus long term.”

Waller’s injury came in the week leading up to the game against Saracens on February 29.

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He explained: “It’s a strange one because I’d never had any Achilles niggles or injuries before in my career and I just engaged in a scrum with Ferg (Saints assistant coach Matt Ferguson) doing live prep for Sarries and I felt like I’d been kicked in the back of the leg.

“It wasn’t particularly painful, which was positive in terms of the length of being sat on the sofa, but it just went ping.

“I thought the flanker, JJ Tonks, had kicked me in the back of the leg but it obviously wasn’t JJ, it was my Achilles popping.

“I had surgery in London a couple of weeks ago, the surgeon did a great job by all accounts and now the road to recovery begins.

“It’s about getting back to fitness for next season.”

So what are Waller’s immediate plans?

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“I’ll be doing a little bit of woodwork and obviously concentrating on my rehab to get my Achilles as good as it can be,” the 30-year-old said.

“I’ll still be working with the strength and conditioning team through all sorts of technology and probably some one-on-one time.

“I’ll be throwing everything into my rehab to make sure I get everything right.

“At the moment I’m rather useless and I can’t really do anything because I’m off feet, no weight bearing, so I can’t carry the little one or carry food or anything.

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“I’m taking zero weight and my wife is taking it all so she’s a star at the moment.

“More or less, I will be full-time daddy day care, workshop and rehab so that will be my five weeks off once I can get around a little bit.”

Waller, who has racked up 280 appearances for Saints to date, remains upbeat, but will all of his team-mates be able to find ways to keep busy?

And who does he expect to cope best with this time away from rugby?

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“I think Woody will be in his element. He’s got plenty of jobs to be doing and he’s taken over a large amount of the heavy lifting for his and my little woodwork company.

“He’ll be doing a lot of work on that and I’ll be doing more of the sit-down work.

“Who’s going to struggle the most? I’m not sure. Some of the young boys will probably find it difficult to get to grips with it.

“They won’t be able to go out into town and sit in coffee shops for hours and it will be lads sat doing X-Box and Playstation.

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“I know some of the young boys are doing Uni stuff so they’ll crack on with that, but most of the young boys will struggle with it because they’ve got no responsibility and they can just sit around.

“They haven’t got kids to look after or bills to pay so they’re living the dream.”

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