AS CLUB CAPTAIN, there will be no such thing as melting into the background for some R&R for Peter O’Mahony.
Munster’s 24-year-old leader was ruled out for the remainder of the season following surgery to his left AC joint this week, but head coach Rob Penney will be keeping the blindside front and centre as the province enter the business end of the season in contention for two trophies.
“Peter has an important role still to play,” says Penney, “he’ll do some analysis for us and he’ll be supporting the group in behind the scenes with us coaches and the players, helping prepare for the games ahead.”
The Kiwi went on to report nothing but good news from the shoulder surgery O’Mahony underwent this week, but insists that the flanker should take his time before returning so that his body can recover stronger for the long term.
“I spoke to him following the surgery and he was in a buoyant enough mood given the disappointment of the news.
“Peter is a pragmatic type person so he’s approaching it with a real view of getting himself right for the long term. The surgeon said it was a great success, they had to do a little bit more than they thought, so hopefully now he can start into his rehab.
“I wouldn’t want to put a time on his return, but it will be a protracted length of time and the key now is that he rehabs it well and doesn’t try to fix it too early.”
Penney has coached O’Mahony for the last time and his words in today’s statement all but confirm that the blindside will not appear on a field of play until the 2014-15 campaign. So Joe Schmidt will be looking elsewhere for a top class number six to play in Ireland’s summer tour of Argentina.
Who would you like to see in Munster or Ireland’s back row during O’Mahony’s absence?
