Concern for Warren Gatland as Toby Booth details ‘horrific’ injury crisis with 40% of his squad out
Ospreys head coach Toby Booth has revealed his side are in the midst of a ‘horrific’ injury crisis, which should send alarm bells ringing for Wales boss Warren Gatland.?
Wales’ World Cup skippers Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan are amongst the 18 current first-teamers on the physio tables at the region and they are joined by star lock Adam Beard.
Ospreys injury woes cause concern for Wales
Speaking ahead of his side’s clash with Ulster this weekend, Ospreys boss Booth said only ‘55%-60%’ of his squad are fit, with 18 players currently on the sidelines.
“We have roughly around 55%-60% players (fit) which is horrific,” Booth told the BBC. “It?provides the opportunity for other people to put their hands up, but we’ll do our best to find a way, like we always do and we won’t be lacking in effort, that’s for sure.”
Player numbers across the Welsh regions have been slashed in recent years, and the Ospreys have just 34 players in their first-team squad, and Booth pointed out the challenges facing his side with this huge injury crisis.
“With a depleting wage cap and smaller squad numbers, it’s always going to be difficult if you get injuries,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of people [out] in similar positions which makes it challenging.”
Booth also detailed that they are having to bring people in on short notice.
“We’re having to bring people in and that’s not necessarily the right thing to do, but needs must and we will do our best to find the way we can.”
This injury crisis in Swansea will cause huge concern for Wales boss Gatland, who is set to announce his squad for the Autumn Nations Series on Monday.
The aforementioned Lake was skipper on their tour of Australia in the summer, and he and club teammate Morgan were co-captains during the World Cup; so Gatland will be hoping the pair are up and running for their opening Test against Fiji.
Elsewhere, Gatland will be without the services of Dafydd Jenkins, who captained the side in the Six Nations last year. The towering Exeter lock underwent double knee-shoulder surgery in the off-season and is expected to be fit for the opening round of the Champions Cup.