Aviva Premiership
Fourie comeback still on hold
ESPN Staff
August 19, 2012
Sale flanker Hendre Fourie on the charge, Newcastle Falcons v Sale Sharks, Anglo-Welsh Cup, Kingston Park, Newcastle, England, January 29, 2012
Hendre Fourie's comeback date remains unclear © Getty Images
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Players/Officials: Hendre Fourie
Tournaments/Tours: Aviva Premiership
Teams: England | Sale Sharks

Sale Sharks flanker Hendre Fourie has admitted that he is still some way from a return to action after a serious shoulder injury.

The 32-year-old - capped eight times by England - picked up the problem in an Aviva Premiership clash with Worcester in February, his sole league appearance for the Sharks since making the switch from Leeds.

Fourie has been forced to deal with a number of injury setbacks in since breaking into the England squad in 2010, notably being ruled out of contention for last year's Rugby World Cup after suffering a separate shoulder injury in a warm-up Test against Ireland.

"The shoulder is going to take a little bit more time than expected," he told the Rugby Paper. "It's going to be a while longer before I am back.

"The shoulder gets really irritated when I do heavy weights. A scan showed the bone graft is only 55% healed so we're going to offload it for a bit and see if that makes a difference.

"Hopefully it won't be too long before I am back. I do stuff on the field that normal people probably wouldn't do and that is perhaps why my body is so broken."

Meanwhile, Sale lock Richie Gray is keen to test himself against the best of the Premiership after moving south from Glasgow. The Scotland international hopes that the physical nature of the competition will improve his tight game.

"I felt Sale was the place I could improve most as a player," he said. "One of the main target areas for me to improve is general forward play, my scrummaging, mauling and work in the other tight areas. The Premiership will give me those challenges week-in, week-out."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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