By Matthew Elder
Copyright scotsman
Huw Jones faces a race against time to be fit for Scotland’s Autumn Nations Series campaign after undergoing surgery on a troublesome Achilles injury. The Glasgow Warriors centre was sidelined after the Six Nations due to the issue but regained fitness in time to star in the British and Irish Lions’ 2-1 series victory over Australia this summer. Glasgow head coach Franco Smith revealed last week that the 31-year-old had visited a specialist after returning from Down Under with “an injury that needs to be resolved and managed”. A decision has been made to go down the surgery route, ruling Jones out of the start of the United Rugby Championship season, which begins on Friday, September 26, against Sharks at Scotstoun. He could also be doubtful for Scotland’s Autumn test matches which kick-off in six weeks’ time with Gregor Townsend’s side hosting USA, New Zealand, Tonga and Argentina throughout November. Jones shared a photo of himself on a hospital bed post-operation on social media, assuring fans that he will be “back soon”, alongside a caption which read: “The things I do to avoid running a bronco”, in reference to missing pre-season fitness testing. Speaking earlier this year, Smith explained that the Achilles problem is one that Jones will need to manage for the rest of his career. “Unfortunately since the Six Nations, Huw has been struggling with it,” Smith explained. “It’s not a muscle injury, it’s a tendon issue. It flared up and it takes a lot of time to get the inflammation gone, so he’s not been available. “Unfortunately now for him, we have to go and have a deeper look to see if we can get him fixed and get the inflammation down so he’ll be able to play in any other game that hopefully we will play going forward. “Without becoming a doctor in five minutes, I can honestly state that it’s something that will be managed for the rest of his career. By the last five years of my own career, I had similar problems, so I can relate to what’s happening to him. “Unfortunately, you pick up a little bit of wear and tear through the years. Now at the later stage of one’s career, it always influences things a little bit. But it is treatable, it is manageable and I’m sure he’ll be back fighting.”
