Rathbone loses race against time
Rathbone loses race against time to make World Cup debut
Julia Whyte - The Canberra Times
ACT Brumbies winger Clyde Rathbone will have to wait another four years before he gets the chance to make his Rugby World Cup debut.
Rathbone was racing the clock to recover from a knee injury to remain in contention for a berth at this year's tournament in France.
But Wallabies doctors and a tendon specialist have told the line-breaking back that his time has run out.
The recurrent injury, which he initially suffered in 2005 and which forced him out of the final four Super 14 games this season, has also marred Rathbone's chances of playing for the Canberra Vikings in the inaugural Australian Rugby Championship.
Vikings coach Nick Scrivener confirmed yesterday Rathbone would not be among the players named on Monday in the 28-man squad for the tournament, which starts on August 10.
Rathbone had become resigned to the fact he would be unlikely to recover from his patella tendonitis in order to get game time and impress Wallabies selectors before they announced the World Cup squad on July 23.
While he was still disappointed when told he would remain on the sidelines for another three months, Rathbone said it gave him a chance to fully rehabilitate.
"I saw a specialist and the Wallabies doctors and they basically said I'd run out of time to complete the rehabilitation and go through rehab running and get back to full fitness to play some games, so I guess it's just bad timing," he said.
"Obviously it was disappointing. The World Cup doesn't come by every year.
"But I guess the positive in the whole issue is that I've got a good block of time now to finally get the injury properly rehabilitated, as opposed to just patching it up week to week."
Wallabies medics and a tendon specialist from the Australian Institute of Sport told the former South African under-21s captain to continue with his rehabilitation in a bid to avoid future surgery, which would put Rathbone out of action for up to six months.
The knee injury took its toll on Rathbone after the Brumbies' round-9 win against the Johannesburg Lions in South Africa on April 1.
Rathbone's rehabilitation suffered a setback when scans revealed pressure on the knee had made the injury worse.
Rathbone's latest injury comes almost two years to the day since his knee problems began.
On April 2, 2005, Rathbone tore a medial ligament in his knee during the Brumbies' 17-0 loss to the Auckland Blues and was subsequently ruled out of three Super 12 games.
He reinjured his knee against Samoa while playing for the Wallabies later that year and missed the European tour.
THE CANBERRA TIMES
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Not sure he was in with a chance realistically for the Wallabies but it is unfortunate he won't even be available for the ARC... but hopefully when it is finally righted he will be back to his explosive best from 2004.
