With the news that Gloucester wingers Ollie Thorley and Henry Purdy have both had surgery for shoulder injuries and will be out for up to three months, Gloucester look very limited in the winger department.
This all stems back to when Gloucester let England star Jonny May move to Leicester during pre-season, leaving them with Sharples, David Halaifonua, Thorley and Purdy at their disposal.
However, Sharples was injured going into the first game of the Premiership season against reigning champions Exeter, which both Thorley and Purdy started.
They went on the win the match.
Sharples’ first appearance this season was in the defeat away to Leicester Tigers.
In the next game against Worcester Warriors, Sharples picked up a serious finger injury ruling him out for three months.
For the next few matches Purdy and Halaifonua made up the winger partnership before Thorley took his chance and paired up with Purdy.
The match between Wasps and Gloucester saw Sharples come back from a finger injury to start alongside Thorley.
Gloucester then had the ability to rotate their wings with all four fit.
Injury struck Sharples again forcing him off during the first half of Gloucester’s Challenge Cup match with Agen on the 12th of January, but it was thought to not be serious.
They still had three fit wingers so there was still players to fill in for him.
That was until injury then hit Ollie Thorley who went off with a shoulder injury in the first half of the Leicester game on the 10th of February.
Also on the same day, Henry Purdy, playing for Hartpury on loan, dislocated his shoulder.
Now it has been confirmed that both players have had surgery on their respective injuries and are out for the rest of the season.
Then it was announced that David Halaifonua is also a doubt for the upcoming match against Wasps with an ankle problem.
This leaves Gloucester without a recognized winger in their squad.
Players like Henry Trinder (Outside centre), who moved to the wing to replace Thorley during the match while Matt Scott replaced him at outside centre, can be used to play out on the wing.
Jason Woodward (Fullback) has also been used to fill the void left by the injured wingers meaning that they will have to make do with two make shift wingers.
Gloucester head coach Johan Ackermann is hopeful that Sharples will be back to play this week.
He said: “Charlie will be back with us on Thursday fit to play and he could be ready for Saturday.”
Ackermann also commented on Thorley and Purdy’s surgeries saying that they both went well.
“The report we have is the the surgeon is satisfied with what he has fixed. The same as him and Henry Purdy, they are both on the road to recovery. There is a set time of three to four months, so the season is effectively over for them,” He said.
