RUGBY DIARY: After serious injury and rehab there's a maintenance programme to adhere to and that's why we at London Irish have the neck club, knee club and various others that meet once a week

INJURY MAY be the bane of any sportsperson’s life but to view it as such is not a luxury an athlete can afford. When you are sidelined a basic requirement is a positive attitude and an appetite for sheer hard graft that often supersedes what fit players must endure on what is a laborious daily, weekly and monthly rehabilitation process.

London Irish flanker Declan Danaher is a friend and as good a professional as I have come across in my time in the game. Two and a half years ago he suffered a knee injury that required reconstruction and one year later, virtually to the day, he sustained similar damage. It takes a strong mind and a willing heart to come back once, never mind retrace your steps on a really tough path. He has spent two full seasons rehabbing without once considering the easier option of retirement.

Players have a policy with Arachas Insurance that covers them if they’re forced to retire. Obviously there are different stipulations depending on age but talking in general terms, there are lump sum payments, a stipend until you’re 35 years old or those who are slightly older, they are paid a percentage of their salary for three to four years: terms vary based on the individual.

Coping with not being able to play a sport you love for a year is a massive psychological hurdle. There are no guarantees, no matter how assiduous you are in terms of your rehabilitation, that you will be able to play again, never mind broach the same level pre-injury.

Acceptance of the situation is a significant step to beginning the process of getting back. There is a temptation initially to feel sorry for yourself while inspecting the bottom of the pint glass and there’s definitely a period when you’re very down. This is usually a preamble to having an operation when the process of rehabilitation begins in earnest.

Sometimes it can take a month before the swelling in say, a knee injury, will go down sufficiently before a surgeon can repair the damage. We are very fortunate at London Irish to have a top surgeon in Andy Williams and rehab specialists in Bill Knowles and Don Gatherer.

Once the operation is over then a player will sit down with the club’s strength and conditioning coach and the head physiotherapist. Players set personal goals in rehabbing that are considered reasonable and achievable. Within those goals are mini-goals that are usually centred round three-week windows. London Irish physio Declan Lynch will record those on his laptop and they are constantly reviewed: it can be managing a single leg squat after a period of time, to being able to fully flex and straighten the knee after two months, to being back running after five.

An injured player must also see a nutritionist, in our case, Matt Lovell, who also fulfils the same role with England. He has to change his diet because he is no longer playing or in some cases running.

I remember a time while in the IRFU Academy as a 19-year-old, about seven months after back surgery, Liam Hennessy called me in and produced the callipers for a body fat exam. I will employ a euphemism here and say I had being enjoying my life in university, to the tune of about 135kgs. I can still hear Peter Stringer’s laughter as Liam struggled to widen the callipers enough to get round my jelly rolls: it was not my finest moment.

When you’re not playing your mood is dependent on how the team is doing, which isn’t always healthy but you have no competitive outlet. Dealing with that feeling of isolation and boredom, you guiltily crave company in the treatment room. When Declan was out he had Nick Kennedy for company for about two to three months and they drove each other on. The player and physio lead the recovery process together but it is the former that dictates the timescale.

Injured players are in the club before and leave after the fit guys; it’s the correct pecking order in terms of importance to a team.

There are various aspects of a player’s game that he can work on while not able to hit the field, but one further thing that coach Toby Booth insists on is that injured players do video analysis for the team. It is specific to their position but hugely beneficial to their team-mates.

I have had persistent problems with torn calves recently, the upshot of which was a visit to Fulham FC physiotherapist Martin O’Connell – he’s second generation, of Killarney stock – to undergo a process called “Hooking”. Some club physiotherapists would not want a player going for treatment outside the club but that’s not the case with Declan Lynch. Despite his myriad qualifications and expertise he is happy to introduce another voice if he feels it will be beneficial in expediting the problem.

Martin is one of about only five people in the world who specialise in this technique. He learnt about it from the physio at AC Milan and spent three years travelling backwards and forwards to Italy – he learned to speak Italian fluently for good measure in the process – to perfect the technique.

As far as the process itself is concerned, I’ll just say it involves a handle, a hook that doesn’t pierce the skin and a fair degree of pain. It’s not for everyone but it has been brilliant for me. Martin was telling me about the hyperbaric chamber they have at Fulham’s training ground; it’s about 30 minutes from Craven Cottage.

If a player is injured he can be sitting in the chamber within 60 minutes of the final whistle and that can speed up the recovery process by 50 per cent – Fulham striker Bobby Zamora returned 10 weeks ahead of schedule.

Weekends provide no respite for the injured player. He must graft away all week without that competitive outlet, which is hugely frustrating. However in saying that, he is rewarded for achieving goals. It’s a bit like time off for good behaviour, as the saying goes. He will also be required for corporate duty, a 12-7 shift for home matches.

Players tend to make very poor watchers of the game.

Once you’re back ready to play, it doesn’t stop because there is a maintenance programme to adhere to and that’s why we have at London Irish the neck club, knee club and various others that meet once a week – and there’s not a tea and biscuit in sight.