Immanuel Feyi-Waboso won’t play in Saturday’s crunch Six Nations match against France because he told England’s medical team about a knock to the head. The wing suffered a bump during the win over Ireland last weekend, but pitchside monitoring did not notice it at the time and he played until the end.
Feyi-Waboso, who is studying to be a doctor, felt symptoms after the match and reported to the medics that he might have a concussion. Jt was later confirmed that he has, meaning he cannot play in Lyon.
The 21-year-old impressed in his first massive match against Ireland and was desperate to play against France too. But Richard Wigglesworth, who coaches the team’s attack, thinks he made a smart choice to report his condition.
Wigglesworth shared: “He’s obviously gutted but being the smart lad he is, he reported his symptoms so we’re not taking any risks. He did the right thing but he’s disappointed because he was excited to try and play away in France.
“There was no major incident, he had a knock and didn’t feel quite right, so he reported the symptoms and then was removed accordingly.” It is completely one of the reasons why the education has happened, so players know.
“The players are better looked after than ever with the rules supporting head-knocks. I always felt as a player it was my responsibility, after I knew everything, to make sure I was safe and part of the education is allowing yourself to do that which he has done.”
Elliot Daly might get to play in Feyi-Waboso’s place since he was on the bench last Saturday against Ireland. But Tom Roebuck from Sale and Will Muir from Bath are also options to play on the wing.
Wigglesworth added: “It had been building for Manny. You have to integrate these players carefully and I think Steve did that well in how he exposed him to Test rugby so he was ready to fly.
“He played really well, got his hands on the ball and did what we asked him to do and brought his talents. It’s very disappointing for him as I know how desperate he was to play again and how much he enjoyed his first start.”
