England’s Lawrence Dallaglio’s hopes of reclaiming his captaincy later this month could be wrecked by a hand injury. Dallaglio faces an operation on a tendon problem, with the recovery time estimated at up to six weeks.
English coach Clive Woodward has handed Dallaglio the captain’s armband for the non-cap Prudential tour game against a star-studded Barbarians side on May 26 and next month’s one-test Argentina tour. Dallaglio last skippered England three-years ago before resigning after allegations about his private life were made public.
Dallaglio had only returned to the International set-up as a substitute against Italy four weeks ago, following nine months out after knee surgery. There had been worries about the tendon being loose after he helped Wasps to a 17-6 win over Zurich Premiership rivals Northampton.
Dallagilo wants to help Wasps in their final push for European Cup qualification by playing in next Sunday’s Premiership finale against Bath. But Wasps rugby director Warren Gatland thinks his star should have surgery or the injury could get much worse. “He needs the operation, but he has to make the decision about when to have it done”, said Gatland.
Filed by James Shortt
