‘Light at the end of the tunnel’ for young Fax prop

HALIFAX’S YOUNG Wales forward Sion Jones is closing in on a return to action in the spring after a year-long injury nightmare.

The promising front rower, an RU convert who joined Fax after moving to Leeds to study, has not played since February 2019 after suffering a major knee injury.

But after successful reconstructive surgery last summer, Jones, who had been pushing for a starting spot in then coach Richard Marshall’s side, is now on an ahead-of-schedule road to recovery under the supervision of conditioner Andy Holleyhead.

“We’re probably a bit ahead of the estimate I got when I had the operation which was six to nine months,” said Jones.

“That would be June/July and now we’re working on April/May, and hopefully early April.

“I started sprinting last week and we’ll be adding some change of direction stuff in as well.

“I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel now.

“I did the ACL, the cartilage, the meniscus, two bone fractures and a dislocation, which fortunately went back in straight away, so there was quite a bit of damage.

“Quite a bit of that healed over time, so by the time I had the op it had fixed itself to some degree and the surgery took care of the rest of it.

“I had my first skills session last week and the boys were all getting into me about how bad I was at it.

“But being in that environment again was just great.”

Jones, who is contracted at the Shay for another two years, admitted it had been a difficult 12 months and was quick to pay tribute to his teammates and family for helping him through it.

“It was February 27, 2019 the last time I played, so it’s a long time,” he said.

“The worst part is not actually the not playing, it’s not being around the boys and not being able to train.

“In some respects, I like training just as much as I like playing and it kills me not to be able to do both.

“Luckily, I have had a load of people behind me who have stuck with me through it all.

“It’s not been overly bad, because I’ve kept myself busy with the team and kept myself around everyone.

“My parents have been brilliant, the club and players have been brilliant, friends and family have all been brilliant.

“I’m just looking forward to getting back out there now.”

ROAD TO RECOVERY: for Halifax’s young Wales forward Sion Jones

Picture: Simon Hall