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It’s been a long way back for Dan Leavy.
There has been a Champions Cup final defeat for Leinster, a miserable Six Nations, a miserable World Cup and a Covid-19 hiatus since the wing hit the platform at Lansdowne Road over a year and a half ago. .
The entire time, Leavy has been watching from the outside, working hard to get back into shape after a terrible knee injury sustained in a ruck against Ulster in the Champions Cup quarter-finals in March 2019.
It was reported the following month that Leavy had torn the anterior, posterior and both sides of the knee. In addition, the hamstring was ripped from the bone, the calf was broken, and the fibula was broken.
After the surgeries, described by the Ireland international as “both quite complex,” he was in a good enough mood to laugh at it in the form of an Instagram post where, alongside a photo of an artificially aged Leavy, he wrote ” I remember when I used to have an ACL. “
That was over a year ago.
And now the 26-year-old is firmly on the run to get back on the same ground from which he left in a medical cart when he was taken to the treatment room at the Aviva.
Leinster’s Monday bulletin said “he will be further evaluated this week before a final decision is made on his participation in the Aviva Stadium showdown.”
Munster will, of course, provide Guinness Pro14 semi-final opposition.
Professional athletes often speak of being one injury away from losing their careers. This could easily have been it for Leavy.
That he isn’t is a testament to his strength.
“It’s really remarkable when you consider the complexity of the injury and the number of different operations he had to have, almost in sequential order to be able to come back,” Leinster senior coach Stuart Lancaster told RTÉ Sport.
“The credit goes to everyone from the surgeons and the way they did those [operations] to the medical team here in Leinster.
“How diligent they were in recovering Dan from each operation that allowed him to move on to the next stage.
“Obviously [credit] to Dan himself, the diligence he’s shown to make sure he’s back.
“It’s really great.
“You look [to see] Do you limp, have problems after training sessions, are you less agile, are you slower?
“I don’t see any of those things. He looks like the player that was there before he got injured, which is really amazing. It’s great to have him back, he’s just controlling him now.”
That’s a picture one of Leavy’s rivals also paints for a back row spot.
“He brings a lot of enthusiasm to training,” says Leinster number eight Caolan Doris, who won two games for Ireland earlier this year.
“And he’s quite vocal in meetings and on the field, so he has a good personality and brings a lot of energy.
“He’s delighted to be back and it’s great to have him, a little bit of back row competition.”
Lancaster was eager to point out that the intensity and quality of the players in Leinster’s training provides an ideal place for Leavy to test that knee, but admits that the final step on his road to recovery is psychological and only one can be taken. time I cross the cover-up. whether it’s Friday night or in the next few weeks.
“Obviously there [a mental step] but the training is quite competitive in Leinster, “says Lancaster.
“It’s a live maul, a breakdown contact and a tackle, you tend to do those sessions at the beginning of the week and he was involved last Tuesday and [yesterday] it was reasonably competitive because obviously a lot of the guys didn’t play on the weekend.
“From what I see, he is not suffering any mental challenge.
“Somehow, the game is not … easier, but you just keep going.
“When you’re in a training session, maybe you’re a little more indecisive, but he didn’t seem like it today.”
Lancaster threw up a host of other names when asked how close Leavy was to a comeback.
That’s the custom of coaches and there is no doubt that those listed by the former England boss, including Doris, Ryan Baird, Josh Murphy, Max Deegan, Will Connors, Scott Penny, are excellent prospects with great futures ahead.
But a fully fit Leavy, one of the pillars of Ireland’s stellar success in the 2018 Six Nations, is on another level.
He brought dynamic prowess to the back rows of Leinster and Ireland that has not been replaced in his absence.
“The challenge for Dan is that he regains speed with the intensity of Leinster’s training, which will allow him to raise his hand for the national team,” he said.
“Last week he completed his first full week of training and I thought it was excellent.
“You could certainly see old Dan Leavy. We just finished today and again very competitive in today’s practice session.
“Apart from playing, he has done everything possible to force our hand.
“Whether he takes the plunge this week or the next, that will be decided. It will definitely feature us in the near future.”
Leinster also revealed that Tadhg Furlong and James Ryan are also competing for cameos on Friday night and while there will be no crowd to welcome him to the wing, if they are selected, you can expect the Leinster players to reserve their biggest standing ovation for Leavy.
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