Courtney Lawes recovering after 10-day hospital stay with staph infection

Courtney Lawes has revealed on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby Xtra podcast on 12 November 2026 that he spent 10 days in hospital after doctors found his infection markers were "through the roof" while he battled a serious illness. The 37-year-old said the cause was a staph infection and that he had not played since Sale Sharks' Champions Cup defeat by Glasgow Warriors on 17 October.

Lawes joined Sale Sharks in the summer following a spell with Brive in France, having previously spent 17 years with Northampton Saints. He described initially believing he had flu and said the illness developed quickly with severe muscle pain. The former England and British & Irish Lions forward has won more than 100 caps for his country.

Describing his first symptoms, Lawes said: "I had flu symptoms but some really bad muscle pains with it. On the way home, my right arm basically stopped working, so really weird symptoms." The article notes a staph infection is caused by staphylococcus bacteria, which can live harmlessly on the skin but become serious if they enter the bloodstream through a wound or break in the skin.

Lawes said he thinks the infection may have entered through a foot injury sustained during a match: "It ripped up my feet, and it didn't heal very well, so I think it's from that." He sought advice from Sale Sharks' medical staff, who initially planned for a doctor to assess him the following day, but his condition continued to deteriorate. "I continued to get worse, was running a really high temperature. "My right arm didn't work, my abductors and pelvis were completely locked off as well. My left arm was functional and that was about it."

His wife, Jessica, urged him to attend an accident and emergency department, and he described waiting for blood test results as one of the "darkest places" he had ever been in. Doctors told him his infection markers were dangerously high and admitted him to hospital, and four days into his stay he was diagnosed with a staph infection.

Initially he was treated with penicillin via an IV drip, but his temperature remained high and his infection markers continued to rise until clinicians identified the source and prescribed the correct antibiotics. "In the first six days in hospital it was proper dark. The pain in my muscles was like nothing I've ever had before. "I don't know how you measure pain but in those first five days that was the most pain I've ever tolerated." He said he had been warned that untreated bloodstream infections can spread to vital organs and have potentially life-threatening consequences.

Lawes said he is now on the road to recovery: "I'm obviously feeling better, still recovering but we'll just take it day by day," he said.