Lamont heading for the same specialist who fast-tracked White injury

Published on Wednesday 5 March 2008 09:26

INJURED Scotland rugby star Sean Lamont is heading across the Atlantic for specialised treatment as he battles back from the cruciate knee ligament injury which has sidelined him for the current RBS Six Nations Championship.

During a season of unrelenting disappointment the prospect of Scotland breaking a losing cycle have hardly been helped by the type of damage suffered by last season's Player of the Year.

He was hurt during a match for his Northampton club side against Pertemps Bees just after gaining the last of his 35 caps in the World Cup quarter-final.

It was announced soon after that Lamont had undergone reconstructive surgery and would not play again in 2007-08. But the Evening News can reveal that, within the next few weeks, Lamont will take up residence at an orthopaedic clinic in Vermont in the US.

It was there that renowned sports scientist Bill Knowles helped Jason White recover from similar damage with accelerated recovery.

At that time Knowles spoke of rapid advances in the way knee injuries are treated.

It is hoped that Lamont, who has seven international tries and was a member of the last Scotland team to defeat England, in 2006, can benefit from an expert who said of White: "What I have found is that rugby players tend to be more open-minded than other athletes and they also have a very good work ethic. The differences lie only in various types of elasticity the athlete has acquired through his sport.

"First step will be to ensure he feels as much like an athlete as possible. What also has to be taken into account when planning the comeback is each player's position because that will also determine how much contact he can take."