The heartbreaking reason Wallabies great Michael Hooper could miss the Olympics after Eddie Jones ruined his World Cup dream

Michael Hooper could suffer a second heartbreak in the space of a year as a groin injury threatens his participation in the Paris Olympics.

Wallabies great Hooper, 32, was brutally omitted from Eddie Jones’ Australian squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, with the outspoken coach opting to prioritize youth over experience.

That campaign ended in disaster, with the Wallabies being dumped in the pool and Jones retiring for Japan, while Hooper turned his back on rugby union for sevens.

However, his hopes of competing in the Paris Olympics are in doubt as the veteran suffers from pubic osteitis. He was left out of the men’s squad for next week’s World Sevens Series final tournament in Madrid, which would have been the perfect opportunity to secure his place in the squad for Paris.

Instead, Hooper faces a race against time to be fit for selection at the end of June.

Hooper has proven himself as a reliable player in the sevens while playing in Hong Kong, boosting his chances of making the national team even before his latest setback.

Australian coach John Manenti admitted the timing of Hooper’s injury is not ideal, but it does not mean his Olympic dream has been completely derailed.

‘We had to make a decision [for Madrid] – there’s enough there that he can’t run fast, which he clearly needs to do,” Manenti said. “We thought we’d pull him back a little bit. We have friendlies against Fiji in a few weeks and we will be able to withdraw him with the intention of releasing him there and making one last attempt to make the squad.

‘He works very hard, unfortunately these are overuse injuries and mainly arise from running. The running load we have imposed on him, and the speed, are considerably more than he has had to do for a long time.

‘He’s had it [osteitis pubis] rather in XVs, but it’s also one of those things where if you don’t pull it off, you can be in discomfort for a long time.”

Hooper was at an event in Sydney on Wednesday where he was unveiled as an Olympic Games commentator for Stan Sport, but he wasn’t shy about revealing his main goal is to compete, not commentate.

The Wallabies great has suffered a groin injury and his place in the squad is in doubt

“He did everything he could, he made really good progress from his first tournament to the second tournament,” Manenti continued. .

“He still has things to get; the hardest part is that he is determined by the things he has done throughout his career and we are trying to get him to do things differently. That’s not easy, so you need time.

‘But he’s already starting to show signs of progress [his injury]. We’ll get him going again and build him up again and give him every opportunity to perform in Fiji for those final selection trials.”

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