Ken Owens is emphatic about the fact he's not retiring from rugby after being forced to pull out of Wales' World Cup squad.
The hooker has been struggling with a back injury that has kept him from training during Wales' mini-camps and effectively ended his hopes of a fourth World Cup.
The 36-year-old had previously admitted that the nerve issue in his back had left him fearing for his career in rugby, but it would appear that the 91-cap hooker is not only intending to keep on playing, but is hopeful of providing injury cover for Wales at the World Cup.
Wales head coach Warren Gatland said: “Ken hasn't trained at all with his back. He wanted to reiterate that he’s not retired from rugby. Again, he’s hoping that he might potentially be available if we pick up injuries during the tournament.
"It’s the same back injury but not as severe as before. He may need an operation on that. He's getting pain in his calf and can't run fully.
"He's been trying to do work on that. We gave him as much time as possible. He’s really disappointed.
"He’s been a great servant. We've got some real strength in depth with the other hookers.
"He probably won’t be available for the World Cup squad. What he's hoping is he might need an operation on that and if he gets himself right, he should (be injury cover) if we pick up injuries in the World Cup.
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"HIA's are one of the things we haven't considered too much as yet. If you get a HIA at the moment you are out for 12 days. Is that going to mean we have to release a player from the squad because you can't afford to have someone unavailable for 12 days?
"It's not something we've thought about or discussed. Once we release them from a squad we can't call them back.
"He’s obviously gutted, but he’s an incredibly positive person. He probably though he got an extra 18 months out of the game that he expected when he got that injury which kept him out for a while.
"He said he got more out of it than he expected. Again, he’s not retired. We'll wait and see how he recovers and recuperates. He understands that (recovery isn't easy). There’s strong competition there with Dewi, Elliot, Ryan and Sam - players that all have got some different attributes."
