It’s no Ball game as Jake continues rehab

WALES second row Jake Ball is still waiting for the all-clear to make his return to action this season.

Ball has been sidelined for more than five months, having not played since dislocating his shoulder in the autumn series defeat to the All Blacks in November.

The 26-year-old underwent surgery to remedy the damage and the initial prognosis was a three-to-four-month absence from the game.

However, even though Ball has been training with the Scarlets squad in recent weeks, there is still an issue that is preventing him making his comeback. Scarlets head coach Wayne Pivac explained: “He has been training for a few weeks and is like a gazelle out there.

“He is looking fantastic, but there is one muscle group in the shoulder that we need to get stronger.

“He is undergoing some more testing this afternoon. The results from his testing are going in the right direction, just a little bit slower. As I say, there is just one area of the shoulder we are concerned about.

“He won’t be involved this weekend.”

Ball will be desperate to get some rugby under his belt during the Scarlets’ Guinness PRO14 play-off push, particularly with summer Tests against South Africa and Argentina (twice) on the horizon.

Wales coach Warren Gatland is leaving his skipper Alun Wyn Jones behind to give the Ospreys talisman a muchneeded break, with the likes of Cory Hill, Bradley Davies, Seb Davies and Adam Beard providing further second-row options.

Meanwhile, another international forward, loose-head prop Wyn Jones is set to give the Scarlets a timely injury boost

Jones is close to recovering from the hamstring tear he suffered during the Six Nations defeat to Ireland in Dublin and is set to be available for the Scarlets’ PRO14 play-off quarter-final next weekend.

Wing Tom Prydie is also set to come into contention for that match, while Kiwi speedster Johnny McNicholl could make an unexpected appearance if the side progresses to the semifinals.

McNicholl had an operation on a shoulder injury in February and was expected to be out for the remainder of the season.

However, he has made impressive progress in his rehabilitation and could still play a part for Pivac’s side this term.