Beale plays through the pain

 

The Wallaby utility back sat out most of the Waratahs training this week after jarring his ankle at the weekend as coach Cheika looked to protect his star playmaker.

 

Beale will line up against the Blues in Friday's showdown at Eden Park after being given the green light to play.

 

The midfielder limped off before halftime in last week's win over the Bulls with what was thought to be a jarred ankle.

 

It has now come to light that Beale has been playing through the pain since the beginning of the season.

 

Beale admitted he'd played the first eight games of the season with a more sinister injury to his left – non-kicking – foot.

 

"There's a bit of a spur in there," Beale told the Australian Associated Press.

 

"So obviously at the beginning of the season I always knew that there'd be a bit of pain here and there and it's just unfortunate that it got jarred a little bit more than it had in previous instances.

 

"Because I wasn't 100 per cent and couldn't continue the game, I just thought the rest would do it good.

 

"During the pre-season, I did a lot of running – hill running, long-distance running – and that just naturally kind of flared it up.

 

"So the medical staff have got different ways to help manage that – going back to icing and compression, and de-loading it helps a lot and that's what we've done this week and it's worked."

 

Beale said he definitely needed surgery that would lay him off for an expected four to six weeks, but he would look to do it when he gets a bit of time off.

 

"At the moment, the medical staff here [at the Waratahs] are doing a fine job at managing it and we've got a really good understanding there of how to approach it," he said.

 

"Depending on how it goes, I think we'll just take it week by week."

 

Unlike when the Australian Rugby Union intervened earlier this month and ruled fellow star Israel Folau out of a match with a throat injury, Beale said he was only being guided by the Waratahs doctors.

 

"I know my body and how it copes with certain injuries and it's great how I can have a really good medical relationship here with the Tahs and it's pretty mutual," he said.

 

After stringing together eight straight games for the first time since 2011, the in-form Beale is desperate to avoid surgery for as long as possible.

 

But the 26-year-old knows he could be sidelined at any moment.

 

"You go into every game knowing that it could be risky. It's a contact sport," Beale said.

 

"It's just unfortunate that there is a minor problem there, but's it's managed – easily managed – and that's the best thing about it."