Nitromax® writes
I have two gooseberry bushes that put on a decent growth
spurt this year. However, the caterpillars approved of the
new growth and during the course of just three days ate
pretty much all of it.

Not caterpillars. Probably sawfly larvae. They look superficially like
caterpillars but they don't grow up into butterflies or moths ;-)

I picked off as many as I could but there were hundreds of
the buggers most of them rather small. A blast with the
hose pipe was the most effective method and finally got
rid of them.

Now I have two rather bare bushes, the only leaves left are
those from last years growth. Assuming I can keep the
caterpillars at bay next year, what are the chances of
the bushes recovering?

It won't cause them the slightest problem. Don't worry about it.


--
Kay