The announcement by PRO14 last week that rugby will resume on August 22 was just the news the Blues head coach was hoping for. Jenkins was one of nine players on a lengthy injury list when the game went into lockdown and Mulvihill is hoping his captain will be nearer to his long-awaited return when he reports for training.
Jenkins’ rugby world was turned upside down moments after he was declared man of the match in Wales’ win over the Springboks in Cardiff on November 24, 2018. As the Principality Stadium crowd roared their appreciation for his efforts, a last-gasp tackle saw him wreck his knee and shatter his dreams of going to the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
“Structurally, Ellis has had the word his knee is fine. He just needs to get back to training with the group before he starts playing again,” said Mulvihill.
“He’s important to us. He’s still the captain of our group and we’ve spoken a number of times about that going forward.
“I believe, and he believes, he’s still the best man for the job. We’re still working on the fact he’ll be back with us sooner rather than later so he can resume his career.”
After two operations, Jenkins visited world renowned specialist in sports reconditioning and performance training Bill Knowles in Philadelphia earlier this year and has been working hard during lockdown on his fitness.
Knowles heped the likes of Andy Murray, Tiger Woods, Peyton Manning, Alex Rodriguez, Frank Lampard and Jonny Wilkinson to return to play after major injuries and Mulvihill is hoping for a similar outcome for the 11-times capped Jenkins.
“Ellis was one of nine players on the long-term injury list by the time we finished the season and I think six of them were our starting outside backs,” said Mulvihill.
“It’s probably been toughest for our long-term injury boys during lockdown because they haven’t had the one-on-one treatment they would usually get. I’m sure they’ve gone through some dark days, but we’re looking forward to them coming back in on July 1 and getting the best care they can.
“I feel pretty certain we’ll have up to six of those guys available for game one, but until they come back in and get properly assessed we won’t really know. They have all progressed and are all a lot better than they were before.
“There were some significant injuries. Without individually picking them out, some of them are ready to go now, some of them aren’t far away, and there are one or two who had injuries sustained this season rather than last who are further away.”
Among them is Wales wing Josh Adams, who was forced to undergo surgery on an ankle injury he picked up in the Six Nations defeat to France in March. He is due to return this month and Mulvihill hopes to get him fit and ready to go for the national side if Test rugby returns later in the year.
