Gavin Henson’s hopes of being selected for the British and Irish Lions’ tour of South Africa may have come to an end after he was ruled out for up to six weeks with an ankle injury.
The Wales center damaged ligaments in his right ankle during Opsreys’ Anglo-Welsh Cup semi-final loss to Gloucester in Coventry on Saturday. Lions head coach Ian McGeechan is due to name his squad for a three-Test series with the world champion Springboks on April 21. But Chris Towers, physiotherapist with the Welsh regional side, said on Tuesday that the 27-year-old Henson would not be playing again until at least early May.
“Following the MRI scan and specialist consultation on Monday, we can confirm that Gavin has suffered damage to the ligaments on both the lateral and medial sides of his right ankle,” Towers said.
PHOTO: AFP
“Although the injury is not so severe that he will require surgery, he will require a spell of at least two weeks in a walking cast before he can start to gradually get back to normal activity. At this stage, in light of the nature and extent of the ligament damage, we are predicting a four to six week spell on the sidelines before Gavin will be ready for action again,” he said.
Henson, who made one Test appearance for the Lions in New Zealand four years ago, has seen his season interrupted by a series of injuries and started just two of Wales’ nine internationals this term. McGeechan is planning to select a squad of 35 and the Scot, who guided the Lions to a series win over the Springboks 12 years ago, has said he wants all his players fully fit by the time they set off for South Africa.
Henson will now miss Ospreys’ European Cup quarter-final against defending champions Munster on April 12 and, in a best case scenario, would now appear to have a maximum of five games to prove his fitness before the Lions depart — and two of those depend upon his club reaching the European Cup final.
Injury-plagued outside-half Jonny Wilkinson of Engalnd, on the verge of making a comeback from a dislocated knee injury that has kept him out for six months, is also battling to get fit in time for the Lions tour.
The tour starts on May 30, when the Lions play a warm-up match against a Highveld 15, with the first Test in Durban on June 20.
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Jiang Xinyu of China yesterday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, while Naomi Osaka retired from the women’s singles final with an abdominal injury. Second seeds Wu and Jiang defeated Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US 6-3, 6-4 on ASB Tennis Centre’s Stadium Court in 1 hour, 5 minutes. The WTA 250 victory was 25-year-old Wu’s second WTA Tour title, after winning the 2023 Hua Hin Championships in Thailand with Taiwanese partner Chan Hao-ching. Later that year, Wu and Taiwan’s Hsu Yu-hsiou won the mixed doubles gold at the World
The NHL postponed the Los Angeles Kings’ home game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday with several massive wildfires burning across the greater Los Angeles area. The Kings and Flames were scheduled to play on Wednesday night at the Kings’ downtown arena. The NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers were scheduled to host the Charlotte Hornets in the same arena last night. “Our hearts are with our entire Los Angeles community,” the Kings said in a statement. “We appreciate the hard working first responders who are diligently working to contain the fire and protect our community. We appreciate the league’s support in keeping our
EL CLASSICO: La Liga champions Real Madrid would face Barcelona in the Super Cup final tomorrow. Barca secured their final spot after a 2-0 win over Bilbao on Wednesday Real Madrid would chase a record-equaling 14th Spanish Super Cup title in the final against Barcelona after second-half goals by Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo helped them to a 3-0 win over Mallorca in the semi-finals on Thursday. England midfielder Bellingham broke the deadlock after the hour mark with a low shot into the middle of the goal before Mallorca defender Martin Valjent’s own goal doubled the lead in stoppage time followed by a Rodrygo strike from close range. Spanish champions Real are to play Barcelona for the trophy tomorrow after goals by Gavi and Lamine Yamal earned Barca a 2-0 win over
Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson said an unnamed Everton player “had a pop” at him after he denied Tyler Young the opportunity to come on as a substitute against his father Ashley in Thursday’s English FA Cup third round match. While former England international Ashley came off the bench in the second half for Everton, Tyler was an unused sub in the game at Goodison Park. Everton won 2-0 against the third-division team. “I’ve got to do what’s best for my team and we’re not a charity case,” Ferguson said. “As much as I wanted Tyler to go on with his dad, one
RSS