Cornish Pirates skipper Stevens returns to training

Cornish Pirates captain John Stevens has returned to full training 16 months after suffering a serious knee injury.

The 31-year-old was hurt in Pirates' opening game of last season - a 24-18 win at Nottingham on 20 September 2024.

He needed surgery to fix damage to both his anterior and cruciate knee ligaments.

Since then the back-row - who first joined the club in the summer of 2013 - has been rehabilitating in an attempt to get back to action.

"It's been ongoing now a long time," Cornish Pirates joint-head coach Alan Paver told BBC Radio Cornwall.

"He had the knee issue, he's had all that fixed, he looks very strong, he looks fit, he looks big and powerful.

"Now it's a case of him going through the gears. He has been out of action for basically a season and a half so we've just got to make sure we manage him back.

"But I'm sure he'll be chomping at the bit once he gets a bit of training and game time under his belt."