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Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Matthew Southcombe

Alun Wyn Jones on brink of stunning return to Lions squad and could be in South Africa within days as next 24 hours crucial

Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones could be on the verge of making a stunning return to the Lions squad out in South Africa, with the Test series due to begin in less than two weeks.

Jones, who was initially named as tour captain, had to leave the camp after dislocating his shoulder during the warm-up match against Japan prior to the Lions' departure to South Africa.

Warren Gatland has now revealed the talismanic second row is back in training with Wales at their Vale Resort base this week.

READ MORE: Lions team to face South Africa 'A' as Dan Biggar retains spot

Mischievously, Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus claimed in a press conference that Jones was due to link up with the Lions in the coming days.

At the same time, Lions head coach Gatland was speaking to the media and was asked whether there was any truth in Erasmus' words.

Gatland responded: "There's a possibility.

"He's back in training and we're waiting for the medical reports from him to see what happens with that."

Elaborating, Gatland then explained that Jones was due to go through a double session with Wayne Pivac's side on Tuesday.

The suggestion is that if he comes through unscathed, he will then travel out to South Africa.

"A few weeks ago, we didn't think it was an option," said Gatland.

"He's been back fully training with Wales. He's training this week with them and he's doing a double session with them [on Tuesday].

"We'll see what the outcome of that is.

"He's made a remarkable recovery. The assessment initially was that it wasn't as bad as they first thought but that's a real positive.

"It would be a boost to this squad, having someone of his experience and calibre to come back into the squad."

The Lions boss also confirmed that a decision on Jones will be made on Tuesday and will be based on how he gets through the training sessions with Wales.

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