Henson doubtful for SA tour
Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:58
Gavin Henson is set to miss Wales's two-Test tour of South Africa in June because of an ankle ligament injury.
The British and Irish Lions centre, who played a key role in Wales completing a Grand Slam in this season's Six Nations, is to undergo keyhole surgery on Wednesday after damaging his ankle during the Ospreys' Heineken Cup quarterfinal defeat against Saracens earlier this month.
He now faces a "best case" scenario of a four to six-week lay-off and may even be out for as long as three months.
If the 26-year-old Henson was sidelined for six weeks, he would miss the first Test against the Springboks in Bloemfontein June 7 and the international in Pretoria seven days later.
As it is, his injury has ruled Henson out of the Ospreys' final three matches in this season's Magners League.
"Gavin's injury hasn't responded to treatment as anticipated and so he was routinely reviewed by an ankle specialist," Ospreys physio Chris Towers said on Monday.
He added: "In light of the ligament damage involved the specialist felt it was advisable at this stage to examine the potential for any instability of the joint and in this instance, the only way to achieve this is to perform an arthroscopy and screen the ankle in theatre.
"The best case scenario will see Gavin sidelined for a further four to six weeks, with no further action needing to be taken.
"However, if the examination reveals clinical instability then the plan will be to repair the ligament at that time, which would be likely to sideline Gavin for approximately 12 weeks.
"It is impossible to say what the outcome will be until the specialist has had a chance to assess the ankle fully, so it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this moment."
Ospreys coach Lyn Jones added: "The news comes as a blow for the Ospreys as we look to finish the season in winning style, and personally for Gavin, who has been in such good form this year.
"Hopefully, Wednesday's investigation will bring him good news and he can be back up and about within just a few weeks."
Henson was omitted from Wales's World Cup squad last year by then coach Gareth Jenkins, never one of his greatest fans, after struggling with an Achilles problem during the build-up to the tournament in France.
But, restored to full fitness, he has flourished in the more supportive environment created by New Zealander Warren Gatland, who replaced Jenkins as Wales coach after the team failed to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.
