Returning Players Set To Boost Ospreys Ahead Of New Season

RETURNING PLAYERS SET TO BOOST OSPREYS AHEAD OF NEW SEASON

Jonathan Thomas, Gavin Henson, Nikki Walker, Ben Lewis, Ian Evans, Kristian Phillips and Lyndon Bateman are all expected to join the rest of the squad during pre-season training, with a return to competitive action pencilled in for the early stages of the 09/10 campaign.

Having gone through an early summer review with the injured players, Towers provided the following updates:

Jonathan Thomas

"Jonathan has been working hard on his conditioning and rehabilitation after an operation to correct an ongoing groin problem. He is progressing nicely and will report for pre-season at the end of June. I'd anticipate that we will have to manage his activity for the first month but expect him to be firing on all cylinders at the end of July, allowing him to make a welcome return at the start of next season."

Nikki Walker

"Nikki has worked hard over the last five months after an operation to repair damage to his hamstring. He has recovered well and is on course to make a seamless transition into normal pre-season work."

Ben Lewis

"Ben has recovered from surgery to reconstruct his ACL. Again, he is near the end of his rehabilitation, satisfying all his targets, and will resume training with the squad in pre-season with some modifications to his schedule in the first month, after which he will be back to normal and available for selection."

Gavin Henson

"Gavin has responded well to rehab, his ankle in now functional but not up to full match readiness. He is another who is on target to return to normal pre-season training with the rest of the squad at the end of June."

Ian Evans

"Ian is recovering well and is now entering the final stage of his rehabilitation as we prepare him for a return to training. The prediction at this stage is that he will resume normal training by the end of July and will be available for selection early September."

Kristian Phillips

"Kristian is now a couple of months post-op after a shoulder dislocation. His rehab is going well and he is on target for the normal six month return period for this type of injury and we expect to see him back playing by late September, if not before."

Lyndon Bateman

"Lyndon dislocated his patella (kneecap) at the end of January. Initially he was slow to progress in rehabilitation, which was a reflection of the trauma sustained in the injury. He has now turned the corner and is progressing nicely, but it will be at least another four months before we expect to see him back in action."