Cipriani - I'll be better

Star fly-half reiterates no pressure to return too soon

Last updated: 7th July 2008

danny cipriani wasps 7/7/2008

Cipriani: reassured

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Danny Cipriani has told Sky Sports News he'll be a better player when he returns to rugby after suffering a multiple fracture and dislocation of his right ankle.

The England fly-half suffered the horror injury when his foot got caught in the ground during Wasps' Guinness Premiership semi-final match against Bath in May.

The 20-year-old's career looked to be in jeopardy but, following surgery, Cipriani has started his rehabilitation with Wasps and hopes to be playing by the end of the year.

He also emphasised that neither club nor country will attempt to speed the healing process.

Of the injury itself, Cipriani said: "When it happened I felt the pain and I looked at my ankle and obviously I thought to myself 'Why me?' and 'Is this injury is going to finish you' and things like that.

"But it was literally after I saw the surgery that the surgeon did and it was phenomenal...the way the bone alignment was, it was dead straight. So I was really grateful for that and since then it's been a day at a time and I've been a lot more positive since.

"There's no doubt in my head that I'm not going to come back and physically be as fast as what I was and that's what's going to be a big emphasis on me: to make sure I'm back as quick.

"But the good thing about it is that Wasps and England have not put any pressure on me to come back too soon. They want me to come back and make sure I'm comfortable.

"So I just can't wait to get down to some hard work."

Encouragement

Cipriani added that words of encouragement from Martin Johnson have also helped, England's new manager having named him in the Saxons squad for the season, rather than the 32-man elite squad.

"He's been very reassuring, he's given me a lot of confidence," he said. "He spoke to me two days after the injury, which was nice...to hear that he was thinking about me.

"The fact that he spoke to me about two weeks before the announcement of the EPS squad was good because he reassured me that there's no pressure on me to get back and he put me in the Saxons squad.

"So hopefully in January if I'm fit and playing then I'll get back into that EPS squad."