Wales skipper Ryan Jones has been given the all-clear to resume training next month after a thigh injury forced him to leave the field in last month’s second Test against the All Blacks.
Ospreys physio Chris Towers revealed that after scans on his right thigh showed there was no lasting problem the man who led the Ospreys to victory in the Magners League Grand Final will be able to start the new season with a clean bill of health.
Jones suffered a head injury with Wales on their summer tour to Canada and the USA last year and lost out on the chance of playing on a second British & Irish Lions tour when he failed a fitness test after arriving as a replacement player in South Africa.
The 29-year-old led Wales into the two-Test series against the All Blacks, but failed to come out for the second half in Hamilton. The first Test was played at Carisbrook, in Dunedin, which is where Jones had made his Lions debut in 2005.
“Ryan took an impact to his right quad, suffering a haematoma. With the long flight home it stiffened up a bit as you'd expect, but there's nothing to be unduly worried about,” explained Towers.
“He's had a scan to just check that there were no deeper issues such as joint damage and that confirmed that it was simply a soft tissue injury.
“He'll be in for some treatment this week and it should settle down over the course of the next 10 or 12 days, meaning he'll be able to play a full part in pre-season with the rest of the international contingent after their summer break.”
