More injuries hit Force on UK tour

Super 14 outfit Western Force have suffered another injury blow on their development tour of the UK with former Queensland Reds winger Caleb Brown ruled out for the remainder of the tour with a hamstring injury.

Brown, who has been plagued by hamstring injuries throughout his career, suffered the latest setback at the team’s training session in Northampton yesterday ahead of the Force’s tour match against English Premiership outfit Northampton Saints on Saturday.

The 21-year-old, who joined the Force in June on a two-year deal, joins Scott Staniforth, Sam Wykes and James Dougall as tour casualties.

Wykes has returned to Perth and will undergo surgery to repair damage to his left shoulder – a procedure that is expected to keep him out of action for four to six months.

Staniforth was ordered to undergo a second arthroscope on his right knee after a visit to a knee specialist in Perth on Thursday.

The utility back, capped 91 times at Super level, missed the final three rounds of the 2008 Super 14 season with knee cartilage damage and was forced home early from the UK tour after aggravating the injury in the teams victory over Newcastle Falcons.

Force team doctor Mark De Cruz said Staniforth would be available for the start of pre-season training, which begins on October 6.

“Scott will have a clean up on his knee but our initial assessment indicates that he should be fit to return to training when the squad returns for pre-season (training),” De Cruz said.

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