SOUTHAMPTON MANAGER RUSSELL Martin has confirmed Gavin Bazunu is “ahead of schedule” in his recovery from a significant Achilles injury.
The Irish goalkeeper ruptured his Achilles tendon in April and Martin said he would be “out for nine to ten months” after his surgery that same month.
Bazunu is back on the grass, training individually, as Martin told The Daily Echo.
The Saints boss added that a decision will be made on the 22-year-old’s future when he returns to full fitness, with a loan move possible.
“He’s doing really, really well,” said Martin. “Gav is flying. We knew he would be because of his mentality, his determination and his drive.
“The toughest job for the medical guys is to slow him down a little bit and make sure he doesn’t do too much because that’s his go-to really.
“He’s got an amazing mentality. He’s on the grass now but he’s not training with a group yet. He is a good few weeks away from that.
“He’s ahead of schedule. It’s great to see him with his gloves back on and diving around. He’s got a bit of a smile on his face, he never smiles too much, but he has a bit of a smile.
“We want to get him fit and training for a while and then assess the situation.
“We need to decide if it’s best for him to be here, competing with the other guys or playing football every week.”
Bazunu is currently not eligible to play for the club: He wasn’t registered in their 25-man Premier League squad due to the lengthy nature of his injury, but could be drafted in in January.
A loan move may be on the cards either, but an injury to first-choice goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale must now be considered. Alex McCarthy is currently deputising.
“He did an amazing job for us last season,” Martin continued on Bazunu, who was last week nominated for FAI Senior Men’s International Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year.
“It will be a discussion between all of us at the club — Gavin and the owners — to decide what is best.
“I know what Gavin will want to do, he will want to play football. If that’s not going to be here at that point, especially after such a long-term injury, it’s important he gets that.
“He will need to get the rhythm and feeling back otherwise it could be over a year since he played.
“We will assess what is going on here at that point. Whatever happens, whether it is here or somewhere else, it will be the best for Gavin in the short term and the club in the long term.”
Wish they would stop tinkering with the rules what seems every year now and just play the game .not sure giving the scrum half “more quality time” to get the ball out of the the rucks and pass or kick without having the apposing team being able to put under pressure/scupper is a good thing..surely we want attack and defense to be exiting to watch and for each play to be intensive…
@Stuart: It’s time they addressed the crooked throw in to scrums! It’s on a par with pushing and shoving in Soccer when corners being taken.
@Stuart: Rugby has Laws not rules!
@Stuart: I don’t think it’s a law change regarding scrum halves, rather more clarity around what a player in a ruck or maul can or can’t do. At the end of the day, a player who is part of a ruck is not offside even though s/he is in front of the hindmost foot. BUT s/he cannot play the ball. Therefore why should they be allowed to play the man/woman without first retreating back into an onside position. Yes, this is going to suit Dupont and gast attacking rugby… but it is the way the laws should have been interpreted in the first place.
@paddy o connor: Once there is a hook from the attacking team, play on as far as I’m concerned. Both teams get the same advantage. And defensive scrums rarely use hooking as a way to attack the ball, they attack the scrum and therefore the art is gone.
@Paul Ennis: thanks Paul, makes sense …
@Stuart: speeding up scrum and lineout set ups is a good move if applied properly. Non contested crooked throw also makes sense. They could do with cleaning up the breakdown generally, not only protecting the scrum half. A lot of ‘clearing out’ of players beyond and beside the rucks is going out which is technically illegal. It’s called tackling a player without the ball but refs are focusing on other infringements, players off feet, tacklers not releasing, etc. It’s very hard for ref to see everything so potentially this can bring a bit more clarity
@Stuart: rule changes are important to keep the game fresh. Look at games back in the 80/90s and try to stay awake.
@Michael Corkery: lots of side entries too which are completely ignored, ironic to have so much around scrum half rules – was DuPont on the committee
@Alan Keyes: I think that is a generational issue. Today, we find it difficult to keep focus for longer than 15 seconds. There are many who would relish the chance to return it to the pure spectacle it once was. Watch the scrums and lineouts – no delay just straight in; no lifting in the lineout; no reset scrums; ball in play time was higher. It wasn’t as technical and it wasn’t dominated by defence coaches. Yes, players were not as fit or as athletic but that created space for some amazing tries were the ball might go through the hands of every one of the backs. But today… I cannot remember what my original point was – It must be the referees fault!!
@Paul Ennis: nail on the head. Great post.
@paddy o connor: but it’s not an issue. The law states the putting in player must have their shoulder at the centre of the tunnel. So they can stand on their side and put in the ball. At professional level, this is enough to make the hook a non contest and 95% the put in is straight/ non material to the contest, so it is a non issue.
What about taking out a player beyond the ball/ruck ???