Leinster vs Edinburgh

one when you say it like that, it’s mad. It
seems that a lot of good things and bad
things come from playing against them,”
Deegan laughs.
“I had a lot of confidence in the work
that myself and the physios had done,
the knee felt really strong but it took a
while just to get back into the swing of
things. Like even the first few games,
a little protection of it, I felt good but
subconsciously you have that bit of doubt
in your head.
“Once I got that match fitness back,
which is the most important thing, I
started to feel really good and I think I’m
in the best position I’ve been since the
injury at the moment.
“I’ve just had the one start this year, the
knee wasn’t too good so I don’t think I
was able to put out on the pitch what
I really wanted to and there’s such an
insane amount of competition in the back
row right now, the likes of Jack (Conan)
and Caelan (Doris) are going so well
at the moment, and then there’s Rhys
(Ruddock), Josh (van der Flier), (Scott)
Penny, Will (Connors), (Dan) Leavy, it’s
ridiculous.
It’s such a long-term injury
and every week you just want to
be out there playing with the
lads. It’s just great to be back.
“Everyone’s playing well too, nobody
is playing poorly at the moment in that
position so now that the lads are off
in camp, it’s great that we can get the
opportunity to play and we’ll have to take
these chances. Anyone can get injured at
any time and there’s big games coming
up that you want to be involved in.”
That element of doubt around his return
to action becomes clearer when you look
at some of those around him who haven’t
been so fortunate in their comebacks from
long-term injury. Two of the back rows he
named along with Conor O’Brien and
Brian Deeny have been through similar
periods of rehab with more misfortune
greeting them down the line.
“I’ve been lucky enough considering the
ACL is such a big injury. You see Will last
week, Dan had such a long injury and
then comes back, he’s in great condition,
he looks great at the moment but then he
injures his wrist, how bad can your luck
get?,” Deegan says.
“Same with Will, his knee, his hamstring
and then he gets a random knee injury
in the last game. It’s shocking for them,
I really feel for them. In that sense, I feel
very lucky with how my body is at the
moment because it could be so much
worse.
“I can’t state enough how lucky I was to
have COB and Brian working with me
because they’re two great guys. Both
were very unlucky to be in the same
position that I was but having them with
me was great, being by yourself can be
tough but having them made it easier and
more enjoyable.
“It can appear very dark at times but
having them there to have the craic in
the gym made the rehab phase so much
easier. They’re two amazing players but
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