RETURNING Saracens prop Kieran Long bottom insists his England ambitions remain alive after fully recovering from a foot injury that was so severe he doubted he would ever walk properly again, let alone return to play Premiership rugby.
Tight-head Long bottom, a Perth-born Australian who qualifies for England through his late maternal grandmother, was on the verge of a Red Rose call-up in November 2014 before suffering the chronic injury that threatened to change his life.
Two painful years of rehab followed at Saracens before he was able to resume his career at Sale, and after a stop-start campaign in Manchester totalling 20 appearances he hopes a full pre-season back at Saracens will thrust him on to the international radar again.
Long bottom, 31, told The Rugby Paper: “Absolutely I have that ambition. I’m always aspiring to play at a high level and I want an England cap before I’m done.
“People might scoff at that and say I’m mad, but being out of the game for a couple of years has actually aged me well and if I can get stuck in at Saracens this season and get back to where I was in 2014, you never know what might follow.”
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