Mako Vunipola has been pushed to gruelling heights in preparation for his potential England comeback on Saturday.
But spare a thought for the female airport assistant who had to push the 19st prop between terminals on a wheelchair during the journey home for his brother’s wedding.
After tearing a hamstring during Saracens’ Champions Cup final win in May, Vunipola was unable to walk for two weeks. He passed most of the time in bed, except for toilet breaks, meals and a best man’s speech for Billy, his younger sibling, back home in Tonga.
The surgery kept the 28-year-old out of England’s warm-up Tests against Wales, but he has declared himself fit to face Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday.
"I tore the tendon at the top of my hamstring and the muscle became detached from the bone, so the surgeon had to go back in and re-attach it," said Vunipola.
"For two weeks, I wasn’t allowed to strain my hamstring, so I had to keep my leg straight. I went to Tonga during those two weeks so it was hard going around on crutches and watching what I ate.
"I was on crutches the whole wedding day and the whole of my holiday. The airport staff looked after me. I was in a wheelchair and some poor lady had to push me… she was struggling a bit! I owe her a big thank you.
"In bed, I had to put pillows under my leg. I had a pretty good set-up with the TV and PlayStation. Plenty of FIFA. For me it was pretty much heaven, but I was ready to get out of bed by the end."
England's Mako Vunipola during a training session. Photo: Reuters/Peter Cziborra
Unable to exercise, Vunipola gained weight during the hours consigned to his bedroom. Today, however, he is almost the lightest he has ever been. England’s rehabilitation staff remained in close contact to condition the forward back to fitness for Saturday’s Test, in which flankers Mark Wilson, Tom Curry and Sam Underhill are also in contention to return.
"I’m excited about being back playing because it’s been a tough last four or five weeks," he said. "I’ve been doing ridiculous amounts of running. I didn’t even want to get on the scales, but I’m near enough the lightest I’ve been — 122kg (19st 3lb). The lightest I’ve ever been was 121kg in 2016 and hopefully in the last two weeks I can get lighter."
Having come through his dark days of rehabilitation, Vunipola will spare a thought for Jack Nowell, Henry Slade and Ruaridh McConnochie, who are all targeting a comeback against Ireland. Rookie flanker Lewis Ludlam will also be absent because of a mandatory rest period.
"In 2015, I had only just started my international career and when you are that age you think you have loads more World Cups coming around," said Vunipola, whose cousin Toby Faletau, the Wales No 8, has been ruled out of this year’s tournament in Japan.
"I’m gutted for Toby and it reinforces that any day could be your last, so you try to enjoy it as much as you can, and enjoy the games when you do play. Now I’m 28, with a few more injuries under my belt, and for us as a team we have talked about not taking anything for granted.
"Every day, I have to make sure I am doing my best to improve - and every time I play, I play like it’s my last game."