Jones is set for imminent return to training after Covid-19 recovery

ANDY Last is hoping to see Josh Jones at Hull FC’S training ground next week as he continues his recovery from coronavirus.

Jones hasn’t been seen in a black and white shirt since contracting the virus in August and he has since struggled with its long-term effects, with fatigue and breathing difficulties preventing him from making an immediate comeback.

The club have treated Jones with caution over the last two months and refuse to give the back-rower, signed from Salford ahead of the 2020 season, a return date. But, as FC await the results of a series of lung scans and tests, Last has his fingers crossed that Jones might able to resume light training next week.

“It’s an ongoing issue that we’ve got in regards to Covid and the process of getting in the necessary lung scans and all that sort of stuff,” Last told the Mail.

“That process is a little bit slower than we would have hoped due to the fact there’s plenty of people looking for the same sort of treatment.

“We’re hoping he can be in and around the training environment maybe the early part of next week and then he’ll have to follow the return to play. But that’s a suck it and see - there’s no real concrete timeframe on that for us or Josh.”

Jones’ symptoms have subsided and while he waits on the green light to return to action, Last has revealed the Great Britain international is as annoyed as the FC fans, who are desperate to see the back-rower back out on the field of play.

“It’s difficult, he’s not suffering any symptoms,” he added. “When we actually brought him in, he’s travelled in for his return to play protocols, he suffered a bit of fatigue and that worried us as a club and as a staff we made sure we did the right thing, as long-term Covid is a little bit of an unknown illness so we are trying to make the best of a difficult situation.

“He’s had a couple of scans and we’re waiting for the results back from all those lung scans. Once we get all the necessary detail from those reports, then we’ll take it to the stage of bringing him back into the training environment and his return to play.

“It’s a strange situation, we’re managing it the best we can but the process is slow and it’s impacting on Josh as a player because he’s frustrated, he wants to be in and around it but due to the nature of what he’s suffering we’ve got to be careful and tick all the boxes before we get him back in.”