ANSCOMBE ON THE MEND
WALES and Ospreys fly-half Gareth Anscombe could yet return to playing action this season.
The 27-times capped Grand Slam winner hasn’t featured since August 2019 after sustaining a major knee injury during Wales’ World Cup warm-up match against England at Twickenham.
Since then he has undergone three bouts of surgery in an attempt to repair the damage.
There have even been doubts over whether he will actually return to rugby at all.
But the news from the Ospreys is much brighter.
Head coach Toby Booth addressed the matter at the region’s weekly press call, saying of the 29-year-old: “He’s going really well.
“He’s around us a lot more now because he’s able to do big sessions and bits and pieces and he’s coming along nicely, which is really encouraging for him and us.”
Asked directly whether there was a possibility Anscombe could be seen on a pitch some time this season,
Booth replied: “Yes, maybe.
“He’s in a scenario where we need to be very careful because of a double injury, as in the same injury taking a great amount of time.
“So we need to err on the side of caution, as we’ve done with Keelan Giles, who’s in the same boat.
“We’ll go as fast as his body lets him go. We are pretty confident from what we’ve seen that he’s going to get back.”
Booth couldn’t give a precise return date for Anscombe but the news that he is heading in the right direction will come as a relief not just for the Ospreys and Wales but, most importantly, for the player himself.
Anscombe was identified by Warren Gatland as the individual Wales missed most at the World Cup in Japan.
Before the former Cardiff Blue’s anterior cruciate ligament injury, he and Dan Biggar had dovetailed effectively as Wales fly-halves, with Anscombe more often than not starting matches and Biggar coming on as a finisher.
The formula worked superbly as Wales banked a Grand Slam in Gatland’s final year in charge.
On the specific matter of when the Ospreys expect him to see him on the field, Booth said: “I have spoken to the medics about when we think it is, but I’m very mindful from a psychological point of view about creating a false dawn, internally and externally. It will be governed by how quickly Gareth gets there. There’s no pressure on him.”
He continued: “The question of when he gets back will depend on how he responds to the last part of his training.
“What happens is that you get to 80 to 85 percent of where you need to be and that last 15 percent is very difficult.
“There’s a psychological element, about being emotionally and physically ready and about trusting your body.
“So we need to condition the player physically and mentally to be able to perform, especially in the position that he plays.”