Jack Nowell's thumb

Just listening to the new Flats & Shanks podcast, which features Jack Nowell.

Nowell explained that he did his thumb in at the end of last season, and needed an operation, but he took some painkillers, and strapped it up to play the final big matches for Exeter. He then decided that, having strapped it once, he could probably do so again for the three more England tour matches.

Dave Flatman asked him if he told the England set-up about his thumb, and Nowell said "No." It later came out, but Jones was apparently not too concerned, saying "It's only a thumb". He only missed the first Test, because he was still carrying a back niggle he picked up in the Aviva final.

This is an interesting story, because it does touch on the issues of how injuries are handled between club and country. Nowell said he didn't tell England but you'd think Exeter would want to let them know. They certainly knew about it. It would have been better for his club if Nowell had skipped the tour, and had surgery early but, at the same time, they don't necessarily want to stand in the way of their man's international ambitions.

At some point, England were aware of Nowell's thumb problem but it's not clear when. There's no question of Exeter trying to claim the injury happened while he was with England, but you'd think there ought to be more formal communication, if only to establish insurance responsibility. Haskell's foot injury falls into the same category, the only difference being that Nowell knew exactly what was wrong, while Haskell didn't.

This will be important at the end of the season, when the Lions tour looms. Injuries won't be just a club vs country affair but more club & country vs Lions and player's ambitions.

Nothing is ever perfect, is the only response I can come up with.
Nowell and his thumb is an exception rather than the commonplace. Let it lie. No need for more complex bookwork to eradicate the possibility of a player moving between International camps and club with a broken thumb. Just let it lie.