Centre Jonathan Spratt has undergone surgery to repair knee ligament damage he suffered during the Ospreys opening pre-season game against the Regional Select XV three weeks ago.
The 24-year old ruptured his ACL in the game at the Talbot Athletic Ground, and he now faces a long battle to return to fitness, with Head Physio Chris Towers hopeful that he may see some rugby before the end of the season, which got underway on Friday night.
Towers commented:
“Jonathan has had an ACL reconstruction and is already back in the treatment room, working daily in the very early stages of rehab.
“It will be a long process for him, but we will work as hard as we can to get him back towards the end of the season. If we are going to achieve that target, he is aware that he will have to put in a lot of hard work with the medical team, but we will give him all the support he needs.”
The twice capped Welsh international has been plagued by injury problems over he last year, missing a considerable amount of rugby with a disc problem in his back, an injury which he seemed to have finally put behind him following surgery at the start of the year. However, he is remaining upbeat as he focuses on getting over his latest setback.
“Obviously I’m really disappointed to be out injured again but I can’t afford to let it get to me” he said.
“I was really looking forward to the new season and hopefully getting some game time under my belt to make up for last year, and was really enjoying pre-season until this happened.
“You can’t do anything about these things, you just have to take it on the chin and focus on getting back in the right shape. I’ve got the best medical and conditioning team I could want to help me, and I’ve got to be optimistic about playing again as soon as possible.”
Director of Coaching, Scott Johnson, wished Spratt all the best for the long haul that lies ahead, saying:
“You’ve got to feel for Jonathan, who has had some bad luck with injuries. He’s a great prospect who has already been capped by Wales despite his problems, and we were looking forward to seeing him fit and available again for the coming season before this happened.
“He’s going to have great support and backing, the medical guys here are first class and will give him everything that he needs in terms of support and assistance to get him back up and running. As an organisation, the Ospreys have supported him well in the past and will do so again. We’ve got a lot of faith in the kid, despite the injury problems he’s had and we want to see a fit Jonathan Spratt pulling on an Ospreys jersey again.”