England flanker Tom Curry nears return from injury after Sale star used Manchester United’s training centre to aid his recovery

Tom Curry is nearing a return from his injury hell thanks to a little help from Manchester United.

The England flanker hasn’t played since last year’s World Cup and was expected to miss the rest of this season after needing surgery to fix a serious hip problem.

And while Curry will require further future operations to ensure he has full range of movement in the joint, he could yet feature for his club Sale before the end of the 2023/24 campaign.

Curry, 25, is a big United fan and has been using the Red Devils’ state-of-the-art facilities to aid his recovery.

‘He did his first high intensity session with us today and got through it well,’ Alex Sanderson, Sale’s director of rugby, said of Curry on Monday.

Curry has used the facilities at Manchester United’s training ground to aid his recovery

‘He is communicating and driving standards really well.

‘We don’t know how he is going to get through the week but we will have a better idea on Thursday in terms of how his body is going. This is a degenerative hip condition and he has come through the first procedure that can improve his performance and his hip mobility.

‘It is the least intrusive operation which is the cleaning up of the ball (of the hip) but in time he will need further operations to maintain his hip mobility and ability to move around.’

Sale, who have an outside chance of an end-of-season play-off place, have two games of the regular Gallagher Premiership season remaining.

They must beat Leicester at home on Friday and win away at Saracens to have a shot at reaching the final, as they did last year.

At this stage it remains to be seen if Curry will feature in those two games.

England have three matches this summer – one with Japan and two against New Zealand – but Curry returning to international rugby so soon after such a serious injury is unlikely.

‘I’m surprised at how well he is moving,’ Sanderson added on Curry.

Curry could be back in action before the end of the season after working on his recovery

Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson admitted that he is surprised by Curry’s progress

‘He’s come back in great shape. His ability to back that up is what the question is. He moves so well and talks so passionately. He’s a phenomenal athlete, an outstanding player.

‘Provided his fitness is alright, he’s not that far away. It’s like he hasn’t had more than a couple of weeks off from the game. He works really hard. He’s been in at Manchester United, down at Loughborough, with sprint coaches at Bath, and the RFU have been supplementing his rehab.

‘He’s done everything in his power to get back probably better than he was before. And it looks like he is at this point in time, just from watching him move.’