George North is ready to end nine months of injury misery by returning to training with the Ospreys.
The scorer of 45 tries over 105 Tests could make his comeback for the south-west Wales region when they face Leinster in the United Rugby Championship on February 19.
That would give him a chance of featuring for Wales against England at Twickenham the following weekend.
A knee ligament injury sustained against Cardiff last April meant North missed out on a Lions place that would have been his had he stayed fit.
The Ospreys remain cautious about the 29-year-old and have no plans to rush his return but their head coach Toby Booth did map out the route they have drawn up for the big man.
“ We’re looking to get George back on the training pitch over the next few weeks, so there’s a chance he might be featuring for us in the middle of February,” said Booth.
Ospreys play just one game next month, against Leinster in the Irish capital, and so while the schedule is a tight one, there is a possibility North could be available for Wales in London a week later depending on how he comes through through his scheduled return and the level of his match sharpness.
But Booth isn’t contemplating any risks. “He hasn’t spent one minute on the training park yet, so that’s the first thing,” he said.
“Before we put a noose around his neck and say he needs to be back by X and Y, the first thing he needs to do is train, and train in a team situation and not independently.
“Once he does that, we’ll see where we go.
“I’'ve spoken to George and he’s excited and confident he’ll get into that pretty soon.
“Once he does, the timeline becomes much easier to determine.”
Booth has also outlined why Justin Tipuric’s scheduled return to playing action was knocked so badly off course.
The Wales international had been expected back from a scapula injury in time for the festive derbies in the United Rugby Championship.
But he didn’t play a part in those and will now miss the entire Six Nations.
It transpires the Wales international has undergone further surgery recently in an attempt to put him back on track after breaking down during his comeback.
“The injury hadn’t healed properly,” said Booth.
“You get to the fine detail — the return of strength and power and range of motion. At the end of range, the injury wasn’t fixed.
“So we had to take steps to make sure he can withstand the rigours of the game, because if you don’t you’re going to be injured again very soon. Ultimately the scans revealed that, so we had to take more action to heal him properly.
“ We’ve assessed what needs to be done. He had an additional surgical procedure, which was a few weeks ago. Now it’s about how he recovers from there.”.
But there is better news on Alun Wyn Jones, who could confound the odds by returning from his shoulder injury for the end of the Six Nations.
“Al is in great form,” said Booth. “Potentially, he could be back for the end of the Six Nations, which is good for him, good for us and good for Wales.”
Jones had been expected to miss the entirety of the tournament.
In other news, it had been hoped Dan Lydiate might feature for the Ospreys against Edinburgh this weekend, but that doesn’t look on the cards any more. More likely is that he returns against Leinster three weeks later.
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