Emily Scarratt: England World Cup winner reveals neck surgery to save rugby career
- Published
Emily Scarratt played in the last World Cup final in 2022, which England lost 34-31 to New Zealand
2023 WXV1 |
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Venue: New Zealand Date: 20 October - 4 November 2023 |
Coverage: Live text updates on the BBC Sport website and app |
World Cup winner Emily Scarratt has undergone neck surgery in an effort to prolong her rugby career.
The centre, part of England's victorious 2014 squad, said she had the operation two weeks ago.
Scarratt, who was named World Player of the Year in 2019, injured her neck in January and chose to have the operation for the sake of her sporting career and her life after rugby.
"Everything went well," the 33-year-old said.
"It was a huge decision because of the potential ramifications if things didn't go so well. Things are more serious if you're operating on your neck."
Scarratt spoke about the injury and operation on her podcast 'Good, Scaz and the Rugby'.
"The scar on the front of my neck is where they go in," she said. "They move your windpipe out of the way to get to where they need to be and I basically had a disc replacement.
"It means they take out a disc and they put a false one, an artificial one, in. This disc is 14mm big, it's tiny.
"It's insane what you're able to do after such a big surgery."
Despite saying she is recovering well, Scarratt said she has "the worst sore throat" she has ever had as a result of the surgery. She is also experiencing an "insanely itchy neck", to the extent she ended up giving herself "ice burns" from trying to cool her itchy skin.
Scarratt did not give details on her rehabilitation time frame.
She did post an image to Instagram of her alongside fellow England international Natasha Hunt, captioned: "It hasn't been the easiest of nine months.
"But, new kit, a new neck, and the same old bestie means there's always something to smile about. Back on the rehab train."
Scarratt, who has 100 caps for England and is an eight-time Women's Six Nations winner, was also part of the Red Roses squad at the delayed 2021 World Cup in New Zealand last year.
Her injury means she misses out on the inaugural WXV1 tournament, which begins in New Zealand on 20 October.