Wilko: I feared for my future

14 April 2012

Jonny Wilkinson admitted today that at one stage he feared his playing days were over due to the neck and shoulder injuries he picked up helping England to World Cup glory in November.

Wilkinson has played just 50 minutes of rugby for Newcastle since returning from Australia, and not at all since the turn of the year. However, he has been training with the Zurich Premiership club for some time and has been given the all-clear from his medical team to take a full part in pre-season.

The 25-year-old fly-half said: "I did not realise how close I came to not playing again. If the strength had not come back, I realise there was nothing I could do about it. Without doubt, one little injury has changed my life.

"It has made me more aware of how fragile and vulnerable we are, especially me, after going into all those hits thinking that I was invincible."

Wilkinson appears to have made a full recovery after undergoing neck surgery in February and has vowed not to curtail his toughtackling style.

"That won't be affected," he said. "I know I haven't got a bad neck any more and that is the first time I have been able to say that since I was 14."

However, there remain doubts about how soon Wilkinson will be available to play competitively following reports he may be be several weeks away from doing contact training. He has been working towards a comeback in Newcastle's pre-season friendly against Irish side Connacht on 17 August but there is concern at the club he will be unable to meet that deadline.

While his team-mates reported back for training yesterday, Wilkinson was in Singapore on a sportswear promotion trip and he is not expected to report for training until next week.

Newcastle's director of rugby Rob Andrew said: "Jonny has been doing everything except contact training. We wouldn't put him back into contact training straight away, whatever the situation.

"The plan is to introduce that into his training by the end of the month. He will build up to it gradually, like any other player after a big injury.

"The rehabilitation has taken its course and he has been comfortable with it all the way through. We are absolutely confident he will be ready for the start of the season."

Although the operation on Wilkinson to free a trapped nerve was declared a success, his recovery has taken far longer than the initial prognosis of eight to 10 weeks. His hopes of making England's summer tour to New Zealand and Australia had to be abandoned.

Newcastle's first Premiership game of the season is against Worcester on 4 September.

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Wilko: I feared for my future

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