Ollie Chessum is on the brink of a morale-boosting World Cup recovery for England.
The Leicester lock suffered a dislocated ankle in training at England’s Pennyhill Park base back in March, with head coach Steve Borthwick fearing the worst on his World Cup chances.
England had thought that Chessum’s recovery time could stretch to six months, plunging his hopes of selection for the tournament in France into doubt.
But the 22-year-old is closing in on a return to full training, even taking part in live scrummaging sessions this week.
Chessum will not be risked in Saturday’s World Cup warm-up Test against Wales in Cardiff, but now stands a fine chance of winning selection for England’s 33-man tournament squad, to be announced on Monday. England will start their World Cup campaign by facing Argentina in Marseille on September 9.
Chessum has won just nine caps but his set-piece abilities as a tighthead lock have already marked him out as crucial to Borthwick’s plans. Attack coach Richard Wigglesworth hailed his former Leicester team-mate’s hard work for fighting back into World Cup contention, especially after such a nasty injury.
“He’s good, close to a return,” said Wigglesworth, of Chessum. “He’s done incredibly well and has been so diligent with his rehab. He looks really good and he’s really close to full training.
“He’s a great character and we’ve got lucky that we’ve got plenty of them. He’s definitely a great character and I’ve enjoyed working with him over the last few years, but he’s also a top-quality player who we are keen to get fit. It looks like that’s very close.”
England always left the door open for Chessum to recover in time for the World Cup in France, and the powerful tight-five forward has carried out his summer rehabilitation work in and around the Test training camp.
Wigglesworth explained how Chessum has avoided any setbacks with his recovery, to push right back into World Cup contention.
“The medics always give you the worst case and then they come out smelling of roses! To be fair to them, they said if he’s free of complications then there’s a very good chance of being ready for the World Cup,” said Wigglesworth.
“He’s had no complications and had flown into his rehab. Him and the medical team have done a great job getting him back slightly ahead of schedule.”
England are likely to divorce to some extent Saturday’s Test against Wales from Monday’s World Cup squad selection, with Borthwick needing to balance his resources this weekend.
Chessum is unlikely to be ready to feature at the Principality Stadium, but has more than enough credit in the bank to justify World Cup selection.
“I don’t think we’re going to rush someone back from that and say you have to play this weekend,” said Wigglesworth.
“It‘s up to us to then make a decision on the best 33 on the back of all the evidence we’ve had. He obviously gave pretty strong evidence that he’s a top international player when he was fit.”
England’s coaches will hold their final World Cup squad selection meeting on Saturday night in Cardiff, after the clash with Warren Gatland’s men. Wigglesworth backed Borthwick to be as diligent as ever when it comes to the final stages of selection.
“We’ll have our final meeting on Saturday night in Cardiff with the other coaches, but that process has also been ongoing since we started,” he said.
“It’s Steve’s decision but he will always canvass opinion fully. There’s not the word in the dictionary to describe the levels of diligence that Steve brings.
“He’s the most detailed, organised coach that I’ve seen and he’s left no stone unturned on everything. That goes for planning, preparation and also selection.”
