Sidestep led to Strettle heartbreak

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Harlequins wing Strettle is unlikely to play again until mid-November after a training injury applied the brakes on a career that had seen him accelerate through the ranks from club player to potential World Cup star.

He said: "I was doing some open running with the ball in hand, and I took a sidestep. I just heard a crunch. I suspected something was broken, but it wasn't confirmed until I had it X-rayed."

Strettle will have a screw inserted into the fifth metatarsal in his left foot, which was fractured during training at the University of Bath on Tuesday.

It has ended his World Cup hopes, with the latest setback coming barely two months after he failed to play any part in England's South Africa tour.

Strettle, 24, was laid low by a stomach virus so powerful he spent three days in the intensive care unit of a Johannesburg hospital.

And while England go about attempting a meaningful Webb Ellis Trophy defence in France during September and October, Strettle will once again find himself on a road to recovery.

He said: "The specialist has told me I won't be playing again for 12 weeks, which is obviously a massive disappointment. I felt that, subject to selection, I was getting closer to something that everyone dreams of doing, and that is playing in a Rugby World Cup.

"I will have the screw inserted in my foot, and then I will be in a cast for four to five weeks before the rehab starts.

"I will be working closely with the Harlequins medical teams, and I know the England medics will be staying in touch. All I want to do now is hope that the operation goes well, and then start to get myself fit to play for Harlequins again as soon as I can."