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Wales heroes Jones and North suffer injury blows
By Alex Fisher
Alun Wyn Jones and George North will miss the next month after picking up injuries during Wales' triumphant Six Nations Grand Slam campaign, the Ospreys have confirmed.
Jones led Wales to five wins out of five in the championship and was named player of the tournament on Friday after a public vote.
North scored twice in the opening match against France, but only played nine minutes of the victory over Ireland that sealed the Grand Slam.
They have both returned to club rugby ahead of the final weeks of the Pro14 season, but the Ospreys remain unsure whether they will be able to feature in any of their four matches.
"Alun Wyn suffered knee ligament damage last weekend and is currently rehabbing," an Ospreys statement read.
"He won't travel to South Africa [to face the Cheetahs and Southern Kings] with the squad at the start of April but at this stage we haven't ruled him out of the Judgment Day game against Cardiff Blues [on April 27].
"George fractured two metacarpals in his left hand early in the Scotland match. Having seen a specialist this week, he needs time for the bones to heal but we are optimistic about the potential for him to be involved on Judgment Day."
While Jones and North have a chance of playing again this season, Scott Williams is "progressing well" towards a return ahead of the Rugby World Cup.
"Scott is recovering from the disc problem in his lower back which kept him out of the Six Nations," the Ospreys' statement continued.
"He is progressing well but we aren't expecting to see him back representing the Ospreys before the end of the season. He will continue his rehabilitation into pre-season with the goal of making himself available for the Rugby World Cup."
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Latest Comments
Agree with Wilson B- at best. And that is down to skilled individual players who know how to play the game - not a cohesive squad who know their roles and game plan. For those who claim that takes time to develop, the process is to keep the game plan simple at first and add layers as the squad gels and settles in to the new systems. Lack of progress against the rush D, lack of penetration and innovation in the mid-field, basic skill errors and loose forwards coming second in most big games all still evident in game 14 of the season. Hard to see significant measureable progress.
Go to commentsKeep telling yourself that. The time for a fresh broom is at the beginning - not some "balanced, incremental" (i.e. status quo) transition. All teams establish the way forward at the beginning. This coaching group lacked ideas and courage and the players showed it on the pitch. Backs are only average. Forwards are unbalanced and show good set piece but no domination in traditional AB open play. Unfortunately, Foster - Mark 2. You may be happy with those performances and have some belief in some "cunning plan" but I don't see any evidence of it. Rassie is miles ahead and increasing the gap.
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