Clive Woodward's efforts to shape a World Cup-winning England backline received a double blow yesterday. Not only has the wing Dan Luger been ruled out for 10 months with a serious knee injury but Brian Ashton will not be returning as assistant coach after accepting the post of national academy manager.
Woodward was already resigned to losing Ashton, who stepped aside last month citing personal reasons and is now unwilling to spend the long periods of time away from home which the England job demands.
But Luger's need for immediate surgery on his right knee is a major unforeseen setback. The Harlequins wing, whose career has been afflicted by injury, ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in the quarter-finals of the Singapore Sevens at the weekend and a scan yesterday confirmed an operation is needed followed by rehabilitation until February.
Though Lawrence Dallaglio's recovery from a similar injury will console Luger, the injury is untimely for his relegation-threatened club. "We are all desperately disappointed for Dan," said Quins' chief executive Mark Evans. "Over the last three years he has been very unlucky with injuries, and this is very unfortunate. It will be a long road back but everyone at Quins offers full support."
Luger also damaged knee ligaments in 1997 during his first stint with Harlequins and missed most of the 2000 season with a groin problem. He then suffered a serious neck injury during England's Six Nations game against Wales last year and, having fought his way back to fitness, broke his cheekbone in a freak training ground collision on the Lions tour.
England have several young wings of significant potential, such as Sale's Mark Cueto and London Irish's Paul Sackey, but Luger's experience will be as hard to replace as Ashton's training-ground influence.
The former Bath and Ireland coach, who is 55, played no small part in the dramatic improvement in England's back play last year but Woodward confirmed last night he has no plan to replace him. Instead Woodward, who said he "respected" Ashton's decision, has already expressed his own intention to do more hands-on coaching with England's backs and continues to have Andy Robinson and Phil Larder alongside him.
Ashton will now work with an identified elite group of up to 60 potential England candidates aged between 18 and 24, with the aim of fast-tracking promising young players into Test contention.
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