Courtney Lawes recovering after staph infection led to 10 days in hospital

Courtney Lawes is recovering from a staph infection after spending 10 days in hospital, BBC Sport reported. The 37-year-old Sale Sharks forward described the illness on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby Xtra podcast, explaining an absence from rugby that has lasted since Sale's Champions Cup defeat by Glasgow Warriors on 17 October.

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Lawes said he first thought he had flu, but the symptoms included severe muscle pain and a loss of function in his right arm while travelling home. He believes the infection may have started through an injury to his feet sustained in a match that had not healed properly. That possible route remains his own explanation, rather than a confirmed cause.

He contacted Sale's medical staff, with an assessment by a doctor initially planned for the following day. His condition worsened before then, however, with a high temperature and increasing restrictions on his movement. Lawes said his pelvis and adductor muscles had become locked up, leaving his left arm as effectively the only limb he could use. His wife, Jessica, urged him to go to accident and emergency.

Hospital blood tests showed markedly elevated infection markers, prompting his admission. According to Lawes's account, doctors diagnosed the staph infection four days into his stay. He initially received penicillin intravenously, but his fever persisted and the infection markers kept rising until doctors identified the source of the illness and prescribed the appropriate antibiotics.

The former England and British & Irish Lions forward described both the uncertainty while awaiting test results and the intensity of the pain as particularly difficult. He said the muscle pain during the first five days was worse than anything he had previously endured. He also recounted being warned that an untreated bloodstream infection could reach vital organs and become life-threatening.

Lawes, who has earned more than 100 England caps, said he is now feeling better, although his recovery is continuing. He described his approach as taking each day as it comes. His comments provide an explanation for his recent absence, but neither that account nor the BBC report supplied a date for his return to action.