John Cooney will begin next season under a slight injury cloud after being laid low with a neck injury akin to what Conor Murray suffered in 2018.
The Ulster scrumhalf sustained the injury when concussed in his side’s European Challenge Cup semi-final defeat away to Leicester. Having just returned from a 12-day holiday abroad, Cooney has been restricted to some light weights in his garage.
“I’m seeing the doctor again today, you’re allowed leave your isolation for a doctor appointment so just double checking whether strength is coming back fully.
“It was off that concussion, I kind of fell awkwardly on my neck. I had no way to stop myself so kind of lost the power in my arm. It was kind of similar to what happened to Conor Murray, it’s just trying to get back that strength in my arm, get back lifting heavy weights because I feel pretty skinny at the moment.”
Murray’s return in the 2018-19 season was delayed until December and Cooney admits he’s concerned as to how long his neck injury will linger.
“Probably a little bit, it’s been three months or so. My scores have gotten better in terms of my strength so I’m hoping over the next couple of weeks it might be alright and I can get back into pre-season properly.
“So we’ll see today what your man says but I’m confident I won’t need any type of surgery and in a month or so I might be back doing everything.
“It was meant to be maybe four to six weeks and then it ended up being slower and slower. So I think it’s normally between four to six weeks, or 14 weeks, so I’d say I’ll be on the longer spectrum of it.”
Cooney’s injury ruled him out of consideration for Ireland’s recent Tests against Japan and the USA.
“I knew because of the power I had and the fact that I couldn’t even pass a ball, I wouldn’t be able to play any rugby. I still had the chat with Andy, he obviously knew that I couldn’t play and to get it right and we’d see in September what’s going on. We had a little discussion that I won’t go into too much.”
Cooney, along with his good friend, former Connacht half-back partner and fellow 'Tackle Your Feelings' ambassador Jack Carty, have contributed to a new video for Zurich and Rugby Players Ireland in which they highlight the importance of their friendship and how they have leaned on each other at critical points in their careers.
