It's almost one battle after another for Joe McCarthy.
No sooner was the Leinster and Ireland lock back running as he recovered from the injury that ruled him out of the Lions tour than he busted a bone in the same foot as the plantar fasciitis issue.
The 24-year-old played 42 minutes of the first Test against Australia in July, initially trying to play through the pain before succumbing to the inevitable.
He says he was close to getting back for the third Test, which the Lions lost, but wasn’t risked with the series already won.
The setback ruled McCarthy (below) out of the November internationals, with Australia and South Africa to come, and Leinster’s first European game against Harlequins on 6 December is his target now.
"It's good, I'm back running now, so I'm should be definitely back for Leinster during the Champions Cup, but I'm I don't think I'm going to make any of the Ireland games now," he said.
"It's just been kind of slow because your feet are kind of sensitive, but I'm nearly back."
While team-mates like Josh van der Flier and Mack Hansen didn’t see any Test action in Australia, McCarthy can look back fondly on his contribution, his injury problems in no way overshadowing the feat.
"I feel very lucky, because I played four games and starting the first Test was so cool," he said.
From the sideline over the last two weekends, McCarthy, who has 19 Ireland caps, was able to view his younger brother Paddy first making his debut against New Zealand in Chicago before scoring a first international try in Saturday’s 41-10 win over Japan.
While he would have much preferred to line out alongside his sibling, as he did for Leinster against Dragons in Rodney Parade two years ago, he was able to appreciate the moment.
"It's literally the coolest thing ever," he said.
"Just so buzzed, obviously, because I've seen Paddy's whole journey and all he's been through, up and downs, injuries and things like that, and he wanted to play, and he's probably watched me play a lot. So it's great.
"I was so happy to see him play. My whole family travelled over to Chicago, and it was kind of surreal because it's the All Blacks in Chicago, it was such a cool debut to make.
"They obviously didn't get the result, but it was really cool to see him playing.
"And then me and my brother, Andrew, were sitting together for the match in Japan right down the corner. Just saw him score a try, so that was pretty cool."
As for what he’s been seeing on the pitch, the Dubliner is better placed than most to opine on Ireland's misfiring lineout.
There was certainly improvement in the second half of the Japan game but the struggles against New Zealand and the opening 40 minutes last weekend were hard to fathom.
McCarthy, however, reckons it's not time to hit the panic button.
"I feel like everyone's kind of making more of a big deal than it actually is," he said. "Looking on you see probably some small things, I feel a lot of these things are small fixes.
"Like there was one or two times in the Japan game where it was just a verbal call where maybe some guys just didn't hear the call right, that can just happen.
"I saw maybe once or twice there was like a verbal call which is something that can be fixed really easily, I don't know, just tuning in to the caller's voice is something that we talk about or those small sort of fixes but I wouldn't be too worried.
"I'm sure they'll get it sorted this week or even change it to a non-verbal call if the verbal calls are causing confusion, so I don't think it's that big of a deal because I know there's probably a lot of media talk about it.
"Paul O'Connell [forwards coach] has definitely made me a way better lineout jumper and the detail around kind of the technical aspects of a jumper lift and things like that has definitely made me way quicker in the air and a better lifter and mauler and things like that so I'm sure they'll get it right.
"Then you can see a much slicker lineout so I wouldn't be too worried about it."
Rehab can be a slow and laborious task and McCarthy admits he’s not much of a bookworm, and neither does he venture to the cinema much.
However, he does perk up when asked about his last trip to the flicks to see Paul Thomas Anderson’s political thriller about a father’s desperate attempt to rescue his daughter from a demented army officer.
"Leonardo DiCaprio's new movie," he says of 'One Battle After Another’. "It was a bit weird, but I thought it was great.
"It was hilarious, very funny, to be fair. I'm not massive into the cinema but I enjoyed that flick."
Watch Ireland v Australia in the Quilter Nations Series on Saturday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on the RTÉ News App and on rte.ie/sport. Listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1
