Alun Wyn Jones is back in the British and Irish Lions squad for their Test series against South Africa after a remarkable comeback from a shoulder injury which happened less than three weeks ago.
Jones sustained the injury against Japan at Murrayfield on June 26 and was quickly ruled out of the remainder of the tour, only to resume training with Wales this week in the hope of proving his fitness to Warren Gatland.
The Ospreys’ lock is the original Lions tour captain, and he holds the record for the most Test appearances in rugby.
Jones will fly into Cape Town on Thursday, 15 July after a rigorous training session and medical assessment earlier this week.
Buoyed by the recent news, Lion’s chief Warren Gatland has described recent developments as “remarkable”.
“A few weeks ago we didn’t think there was an option and he’s been back fully training with Wales. He’s trained this week with them,” Gatland said.
“I think he’s doing a double session tomorrow (Tuesday) with them and we’ll have to see what the outcome of that is.
“It’s remarkable really when you consider it’s just 18 days since he left us in Edinburgh.
“He’s obviously raring to go and from what I’ve seen on video and the feedback we’ve received, he’s certainly not been holding himself back in training. He was really getting stuck in yesterday.
“It’s a massive boost for the Lions to welcome a player of Alun Wyn’s stature back.”
The news comes at the perfect time for the Lions squad who are fully focussed on their task against South Africa ‘A’ later today as they step up their preparations for the opening test against the Springboks later this month.
Last week, the tour was placed in turmoil after the Lions’ game against Vodacom Bulls was postponed because of a reported Covid-19 outbreak amongst the Bulls’ players.
However, Warren Gatland’s side will be captained by Ireland’s Connor Murray for the first time when they face South Africa ‘A’ at Cape Town Stadium later this evening.
