Wasps flanker Sam Jones' year-long fitness fight from a broken leg is not over yet

• e-mail

Wasps flanker Sam Jones, whose right leg was shattered a year ago during a judo drill at an England training session, is still several weeks from playing.

Jones, 25, is continuing his gruelling quest to recover from a 'horrendous' accident during a training camp in Brighton

At first, it was announced that he had fractured his leg and would be out for five months. Eventually, it became apparent he would not play again in the 2016-17 season. 

Wasps flanker Sam Jones is still several weeks away from returning to action

Then in July, an update from Wasps suggested he should be fit to return this month.

However, as the national squad prepare to convene in Oxford next week for this year's three-day, pre-autumn training camp, Jones' rehabiliation struggle goes on. 

The best-case scenario would see him cleared for action by early November, but until he has started contact training again, the doubts will linger.

'Sam, unfortunately, has taken a lot longer to recover than he and the club had hoped,' said Wasps' director of rugby, Dai Young. 

'He is back running now and has come a long way, but it is just about this last hump that he's got to get over, putting back-to-back running sessions together.

The 25-year-old shattered his right leg during a judo drill at an England training session

'It has been frustrating for Sam and everyone else, but he is well down the track — he's not a million miles away. It is just a matter of getting this last 10 per cent of the way. 

'I don't think we are talking about the next two to three weeks for him to be fit again, we are probably talking about at least four to six weeks before he's ready.

'It's not a psychological issue. Sam is one of the most mentally-tough guys I've ever come across. In fact, it wasn't just one injury — it was like three or four injuries in one. 

At first it was thought that he would be out for five months but he missed the rest of the season

'He broke his leg, his ankle, his syndesmosis (a joint between the tibia and fibula at the ankle) and ripped all the ligaments in his ankle. It was horrendous.'

Asked if Jones had ever feared that he would never play again, Young added: 'I don't think so. 

'He's just about there, then he gets a bit sore so we ease him back again. It's coming up to a year that he has been out and we have certainly missed him.'