Wallaby Cooper feels 'fortunate' about injury, ready for rehab battle

MELBOURNE : Australia flyhalf Quade Cooper is looking on the bright side while nursing an Achilles injury, feeling thankful he is not planning a longer recovery from a knee or a shoulder problem.

The 34-year-old ruptured his Achilles against Argentina in Mendoza, his first game back after a calf strain during the pre-match warmup before the first test against England.

Cooper's struggles have been a headache for Dave Rennie's Wallabies as they prepare for next year's World Cup in France but the playmaker himself is confident of a full recovery and a return to the selection frame.

"In some ways, I feel quite happy to have this injury instead of multiple other injuries that players sustained over the past few weeks ... more so to have a soft tissue injury than a knee injury," he told reporters in Melbourne.

"I knew how hard a knee injury was to overcome so I feel quite fortunate being able to have this injury."

Cooper needed a knee reconstruction after breaking down during the 2011 World Cup, an injury that sidelined him for seven months.

A shoulder injury in early 2014 also saw him ruled out for most of the international season.

Cooper spoke about his Achilles with friend and retired dual code international Sonny Bill Williams, who also ruptured the tendon in 2016 and missed the entire season.

Williams ultimately recovered and returned to the All Blacks fold the following year.

"There's a few guys in the Wallabies who have had it as well," said Cooper.

"I know that I'm ready for something like this and that goes down to how you live your life every day.

"If you can build those systems and habits in place, when you're faced with adversity ... you're ready and able to have the skills and the dedication to be able to overcome them."

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