Western Force captain Nathan Sharpe could be ruled out for the start of the new Super Rugby season, the first big blow for new head coach Richard Graham.
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Sharpe will miss approximately four to six weeks of training, after undergoing laparoscopic surgery on Saturday to repair a hernia.
A decision was made by Sharpe and the club’s medical staff to have the procedure done immediately, to give him every opportunity to be available for the start of the 2011 Super Rugby season.
“Nathan first brought it to our attention [last] Friday morning and we acted decisively to have him operated on Saturday,” Graham said.
“The length of recovery is between four to six weeks and in this case we believe we’ve given ourselves the best chance to have Nathan available for the first competition game against the Reds.”
The Force get their campaign underway when they face the Reds in Brisbane on February 20 – in just under four weeks.
Sharpe has already begun his road to recovery after being released from hospital on Monday and will follow a specialised programme designed to have him back on the field as soon as possible.
“Our medical and strength and conditioning staff has mapped out a return to play programme which will see Nathan make a progression from walking to light cardio then to training and ultimately full contact,” Graham said.
“Nathan has just recorded a career best body composition score and under the guidance of our conditioning team he was in fantastic condition. They’ll ensure he comes back ready to go.”
The Western Force will play trial matches starting in a fortnight and coaching staff can call on the services of second row forwards Sam Wykes, Tom Hockings and youngster Phoenix Battye as well as the versatile Ben McCalman – who is no stranger to playing lock after standing alongside Sharpe on numerous occasions last season.
“Nathan’s injury is just part and parcel of sport and you just need to deal with each case individually,” said Graham.
“We are fortunate to have a depth in the second row and I have every confidence in those players to take on the roles that will be asked of them during the period Nathan is unavailable.”