 Adam Jones was injured in the second half of the 28-25 defeat in Pretoria |
Prop Adam Jones is set to give Wales a Six Nations boost by returning for the Ospreys' 19 December Heineken Cup game against Viadana, with lock Ian Evans. That would give Jones almost two months to prepare for Wales' Six Nations opener against England at Twickenham after recovering from shoulder surgery. Jones suffered a dislocated shoulder in the British and Irish Lions' second Test against South Africa in June. He said: "I've done the first bit of contact and it wasn't too bad." Tight-head prop Jones, 28, was initially expected to be out until the New Year, but has exceeded even the best case scenario which would have seen him first return on Boxing Day against the Scarlets. In his absence - and those of John Yapp (bicep) and Rhys Thomas (foot) - Wales fielded his Ospreys team-mate Paul James at tight-head prop against New Zealand, Samoa, Argentina and Australia in November.  | 606: DEBATE |
But James is a loose-head specialist who was praised for his tenacity during the November Tests even if Wales' scrum was often fragile. The Ospreys travel to Italian club Viadana for the first of their back-to-back European clashes on Saturday with the return leg seven days later. Jones returned to full training on Monday and on Tuesday morning expected to take part in his first scrummaging session - albeit against a machine - since being given the all-clear. Jones said: "Two weeks now, hopefully, touch wood and back playing. I've done the first bit of contact and it wasn't too bad. "I don't know what the crack is yet but I'll probably have about quarter of an hour/20 minutes against Viadana and the Scarlets [26 December] and then, touch wood, start against Cardiff [on New Year's Day "We'll see how it goes, but it's holding up pretty well at the moment. "It was a bit sore after training, but it's to be expected so I'll just crank it up a bit now in the next week-and-a-half. "Training was pretty good. Obviously I'll have to step up the scrummaging and tackling, but it feels pretty good so far, so touch wood it's going to go alright." The tight-head prop admits regaining physical confidence is causing him some concern, but added: "Apart from that I'm looking forward to it. | If people want to say nice stuff about me it's a lot better than people saying bad stuff about me |
"It's not too early, really. It's not far off full strength now." Jones won plaudits for his performances with the Lions. He was overlooked for the first Test defeat in which England's Phil Vickery suffered at the hands of Tendai Mtawarira, nicknamed The Beast. The Wales prop came out on top in the scrums in the second Test, but his tour ended in the second-half of another defeat after an incident that led to Springbok lock Bakkies Botha being cited and banned for two weeks. Having been criticised over fitness issues during his career, Jones is happy to accept the plaudits that came his way during the Lions tour. He has even been described as Wales' most important player amid worries about the scrum in his absence.  Evans has barely played since a knee injury in November 2008 |
"I'm not too sure about that accolade," said Jones. "It's nice, obviously, but I don't know if it's 100 per cent true, but if people want to say nice stuff about me it's a lot better than people saying bad stuff about me." Jones signed a new three-year Ospreys deal last month and has set his sights on returning to the Test arena with Wales and helping the star-studded Ospreys fulfil their potential. He said: "I've just signed for three years so I just obviously want to get back in the Wales squad, have a good Six Nations, get us [Ospreys] to qualify for Europe and win as many games as we can. "Obviously I want to play in the 2011 World Cup, but nothing too far ahead yet, just get back to form, really." Second-row Evans could also come into Wales contention if he can get some rugby under his belt. He suffered a chest injury in October, just weeks into his comeback after 10 months out with a knee injury.
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