Joseph Suaalii drops huge news as Wallabies avoid $5m disaster for Lions series

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a day ago

The Wallabies have been handed a massive boost after $5 million recruit Joseph Suaalii declared he would be 'fully fit' for the upcoming British and Irish Lions tour, having fractured his jaw in May. There were fears the former NRL superstar would be ruled out of the start of the blockbuster three-Test series that kicks off next month, after he suffered the sickening injury during a Super Rugby game for the NSW Waratahs last month.
Suaalii copped an accidental knee to the head in a tackle against the Queensland Reds and underwent surgery on the fractured jaw three weeks ago. The former Roosters star lost and then regained 5kg following the operation to repair his jaw, and his absence would have been a disastrous blow for the Wallabies and Rugby Australia (RA), who signed the prized recruit ahead of the Lions tour and the 2027 World Cup on home soil.
But the cross-code superstar - who is arguably Australian rugby's biggest drawcard - told reporters on Wednesday that he was "97 per cent" of the way towards full recovery, and a certainty to be fit for the start of the Lions series, which kicks off in Brisbane on July 19. And having the 21-year-old back to his brilliant best will be crucial to the Wallabies' hopes of toppling the mighty Lions.
Suaalii revealed that he'd already returned to full-contact training on Monday, in a massive boost to his hopes of featuring in Australia's season-opening Test against Fiji on July 6 in Newcastle. "It's really good. The face was really big for a while, so I was wearing a face mask everywhere, but it's slowly coming down," Suaalii said on Wednesday.
"I've still got a bit of baby fat around, but it's really good. I'm like 97 per cent, but I'll be fully fit." The former NSW Origin star suffered the fracture in an accidental collision with Waratahs and Wallabies teammate Andrew Kellaway, who was devastated to wipe out the star recruit.
"Yeah, nobody wants to crash the Ferrari. That's definitely not what anybody wants," Kellaway said on Wednesday. "I was worried I was going to go viral as the guy who damaged Joseph before the Lions series." But Suaalii holds no grudges and insists such accidents are an unfortunate 'part of the game'.
The 21-year-old said his family have been crucial to his recovery but feared the setback would ruin his dream of running out with the Wallabies for the series opener against the Lions. "Because obviously it's such an important time for myself... and I want to be playing so, yeah, obviously there's a little bit of nerves," Suaalii said.
"But they (doctors) came back straight away and then I had surgery maybe three weeks ago now and... I lost around 5kg, but I've put it all back on now. I've been eating heaps, thanks to my mum and my family around me with the support to help me stay on track.
"Just going back home and there's always food there, so mum and dad always try to feed me as much as possible when I'm back home, so that's good." Suaalii finished last year's memorable European spring tour at outside centre, but Waratahs coach Dan McKellar mostly used him at fullback in Super Rugby and he showed flashes of brilliance in the No.15 jersey during a stop-start season.
It leaves outgoing Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt with a big call to make on Suaalii's position, but the 21-year-old says he's comfortable in whatever role is required. "Playing at 15, playing at 13, even training on the wing, I feel like I've been learning so much," he said. "I'm a big believer in playing wing, 13, 15, just make sure you're a better rugby player, and seeing it from a different perspective always helps you."
with AAP