Jenkins looks for shoulder injury solution

Sydney: Australia’s most-capped Sevens player, Ed Jenkins is looking for a solution to a recurring shoulder injury, likely to force him out of the Sydney 7s.

Jenkins missed a big chunk of the 2016/17 season, including last year’s Sydney 7s, with a shoulder issue, ultimately ending his year early to undergo surgery on the joint.

All seemed to be progressing well, but Jenkins was again struck down in Dubai, sidelined for the Cape Town tournament last month.

The 31-year-old is set to head to Queensland for a second medical opinion on the injury, looking to be back on the park consistently. Aussie men’s coach Andy Friend said the next step for the former skipper would be clearer after that visit, but that it was ultimately simply a product of the tough game of sevens, with Jenkins a regular Sevens fixture for the past decade.

“He’s got a shoulder (injury). We’ll send him to Brisbane for a second opinion, but he’s doubtful,” he said.

“It’s the same shoulder he had surgery on previously.

“He’s got the most caps for his country and (there’s) just wear and tear on a shoulder, the game takes its toll.

“These blokes, (playing) over a long period of time, it’s one of the consequences.”

While they’re waiting on Jenkins’s prognosis, the Aussie squad was back in training this week, straight after New Year’s Day, with the Sydney 7s just three weeks away.

One absentee from training has been speedster Simon Kennewell, who was granted special leave for a 21st birthday holiday with his family,.