On January 1, Joe Marler suffered a hairline fracture to his left leg during an Aviva Premiership clash with Worcester Warriors.
He felt a little discomfort but walked around on the fractured leg for eight more days under he went in for a scan and the damage was revealed.
The initial prognosis was five weeks until he could resume full training but England had a Six Nations opener against France on February 4 and first-choice loosehead Mako Vunipola was already out. England were desperate to give the Harlequins prop every chance of getting back in time.
A hyperbaric [pressure] chamber, which helps speed up recovery, but Marler is claustrophobic. That idea was nixed so Marler worked closely with England doctor Phil Pask and relied on a drink that had served him well growing up – milk.
After being named in England’s team to play France on Saturday, Marler told reporters of his miraculous recovery:
“I rehabbed the hell out of [the leg], to be honest, and drank lots of milk. And that’s it; my body has taken care of the rest.”
“It’s a historical thing,” he continued. “There’s lots of calcium in milk, so that helps with the bones. And teeth. It’s not a new thing, it’s been around for years.
“I drank two pints of milk a day. It’s something I’ll keep doing because it’s really tasty.
“I always thought green top was good for you because it’s reduced fat but they gave me licence to have blue top and the odd day I’d have gold top – the one with, like, 1,000 calories. Maybe I won’t carry on with that but blue top, it’s been really good for me.”
We must now caution that Marler also had the best medical support and advice the RFU could provide so we would not simply recommended this milk-heavy method to everyone.
Marler’s leg will truly be put to the test when he scrums down against 24st 6lb French prop Uini Antonio at Twickenham this weekend.
