It’s been a difficult off-season for Catalans Dragons with the news from Perpignan being that coach Steve McNamara only had four players to start pre-season with and it isn’t getting any easier seemingly.
Players are now returning from their World Cup break and the squad is therefore filling out but it’s not a squad that’s totally healthy with another star player set to miss the start of the 2023 campaign.
It’s been reported by L’Independant in France that star winger Fouad Yaha will miss a handful of games with a shoulder dislocation after being pictured leaving training in a sling.
That news follows England star Mike McMeeken having broken his arm during the World Cup, something that was only reported this past week, with the surgery meaning he’s expected to miss at least five games.
L’Independant said on Yaha: “Fouad dislocated his shoulder and will undergo an MRI on Tuesday. The specialist then makes the decision to operate or not.
“At this level and given the importance of shoulders in rugby, the player is likely to go through the operating table if he does not want his shoulder to jump again at each impact.”
This suggests that Yaha will aim to not undertake surgery if possible, with the reason McMeeken is set to be out for such a long period due to the rehabilitation period following his arm surgery.
For McMeeken though it was a case of injuring the arm that he broke during the regular season and therefore surgery was potentially more necessary but as for Yaha it’s unclear as to how many games he will miss, but he’s certainly in a race for fitness to start the season.
The talented 26-year-old scored 20 tries last year for the Dragons and is the side’s all time scorer therefore will be a huge loss for them.
Catalans Dragons
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