Copyright irishmirror
Series winner Hugo Keenan had to pull the trigger during the British and Irish Lions tour on having hip surgery that would sideline him for almost half a year. Keenan, 29, scored the last minute try that won the second Test and series for Andy Farrell's side against Australia. In his recently published autobiography, the head coach revealed he screamed at his full-back to pass to Jack Conan before his successful solo run. “It was funny, he (Farrell) was slagging me after that," Keenan said. "My argument back was that Jack Conan had already dropped one over the line at the start of the game, so I couldn't give him a second chance, I had to take it into my own hands. That moment was pretty incredible and special for a lot of reasons for me and my family and, obviously, for the team." The Leinster star first experienced a hip issue in last year's Six Nations defeat to England . He pulled out of the warm-up to the Scotland game a week later but it wasn't until late last season that it became a real problem. So it was during the Lions tour, but before the first Test, that he had to decide between going under the knife on his return from Australia or taking a break and then playing on. "Leinster, Ireland, family, myself, everyone was involved in the decision and what was best for me," he recalled. "I just had to go with all bits of advice and everyone was happy and felt it was the right thing to do. "Having that in my background was a bit of a challenge (on the tour), but you could leave everything out there. I was lucky enough to play in all three Tests when a couple of weeks before that my future was looking pretty uncertain - not even the hip, but my illness. "It was really a rollercoaster of emotions, the highs of the series win, winning those two games, and losing the third match. It was a week after the third Test that I went under the knife in London - it certainly brought me back down to earth. “Hopefully I'll be better for it - a bit of short-term pain for long-term gain, because I'm 29, hopefully I've a good few more years ahead of me. If there's ever a good time, it's at the end of a season and after a Lions tour. “Seeing the Lions lads come back (last weekend), it's 10 weeks since my surgery. Technically, I've only missed one game, so it's about choosing when to do it as well." That doesn't mean he's not itching to get back, although it will still be the new year before that happens. Although he was on crutches for a month post-surgery, this week has been hardest because Leinster's Croke Park defeat to and then missing Ireland's Chicago trip to face the All Blacks. But Keenan knows there are Champions Cup games in January to work towards, followed by the Six Nations and, down the line, the 2027 World Cup. Ireland's attack coach Andrew Goodman called him last week, Johnny Sexton met him for a coffee. The information might not be as instant as when he is in camp but it does percolate down. In the meantime, Keenan won't be bored - he's renovating his house and he has linked in with the EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards, getting his "business brain" working. Accounting exams are also on the horizon, but the main focus remains rugby. "Hopefully I'll get a good sort of six months-plus of a rugby season, and not miss too much along the way," he said. “It'll depend on me hitting markers and just worrying about the short term. It's looking at around a new year return. Well, fingers crossed.”
