Ben Foden, the full back for the Northampton Saints admitted he gave up being a part of the England team for the recently concluded Six Nations Championship in order to avoid a repeat of last season’s injury woes.
The 28 year old England international has recently returned from a knee injury after missing most of last season due to ankle ligament injury twelve months prior.
Speaking to BBC Radio Northampton, Foden stated that he tried to push himself to fitness in order to make the Six Nations Championship last season and that landed him in all kinds of trouble. He admitted that he probably prolonged his injury, adding that his efforts to push himself took the injury six months to heal instead of three.
He went on to add that as a result, the Six Nations Championship was the last thing on his mind this season.
The Northampton Saints man suffered his ankle injury in September 2012 but he managed to return to action at the end of the year and also made his way into Stuart Lancaster’s squad for the Six Nations Championship. However, he did not feature in a single match for the England team in the Grand Slam after the Rugby Football Union requested the England coaching staff to rest him for a match against Gloucester Rugby.
A season on, Foden found himself with another injury, this time his knee giving way in November 2013. But this time around, he waited for the injury to heal, biding his time before returning earlier this month for the Northampton Saints at Franklin’s Gardens.
He stated that he is still not fully match fit and the lungs are struggling a bit every now and then. But his return will be a boost for the Saints who suffered back to back defeats last weekend.