Surgery puts Cummins on track

Fast healer: Nick Cummins

Western Force winger Nick Cummins is disappointed by his latest injury suffered in camp with the Wallabies, but is determined to come back from it fitter and stronger.

Cummins suffered ruptured ligaments in his foot last month while in training with Australia ahead of the end-of-year tour of Europe. He has since had surgery and now is hoping to make it back inside the first half of the 2010 Super 14 season.

Cummins now faces at least three months of rehabilitation work before being able to return and it was disappointing timing costing him a spot in the national squad - and because it happened on his 22nd birthday.

"I was right on the cusp too, it's really disappointing. I was on the camp and we started off on the Monday morning, on my birthday," Cummins said.

"Everything was going well, I was feeling good, fresh and was going well.

"Then something happened up in the universe and it landed on the back of my leg. Pop went the Lisfranc ligament and it's a pretty serious one apparently. What a birthday present."

Cummins will work as hard as possible to return as close to the start of the Force's 2010 campaign as he can, so that he can build on a 2009 season that saw him score two tries from six appearances.

"Now I have a massive rehab program. I will be taking on a heavy weight program that's mainly upper body and some single leg stuff, and that will drag me through for three-and-a-half months," he said.

"Then I'll hopefully get back into some running, team stuff and get back playing.

"I'd probably need three or four weeks of running and building the muscle back from when I'm in the boot. Once you can run, you have to build that match fitness up before getting back in the team.

"Apparently I'm a pretty good healer and I'm going to run with that.

"They said it's about four months from go to woe, but I'm hoping to cut a bit of time off that. It feels really good, it's healing nicely and the X-rays are showing good signs."

Cummins was feeling terrific in training with the Australian team as well and that experience has only made him more desperate to earn his first Wallabies cap and put a bad run of injuries behind him.

"I was steaming, I was ready to go," he said.

"Training with the boys was awesome, you can see that they know a lot and I still learned a lot off them. I saw a real opportunity there to learn heaps and continue my development."

"(Robbie) Deans runs it smoothly and he gives power to the blokes and they drive each other to want to succeed.

"I'm just about over the injuries and I'm looking to get my body right once and for all to stick it to them and put my best case forward for the Wallabies."

The majority of the Force squad that is not in the United Kingdom has now started pre-season training and Cummins has noticed them working incredibly hard.

"They are going well," said Cummins.

"They're doing a fair bit of weights and grappling sessions, which is leaving the boys a bit worse for wear, and my roommate came home with the shakes the other day because of low blood sugar.

"They are going pretty hard."

The housemate he speaks of is Sam Wykes, who combines for the most interesting hair-do pairing with Cummins you'll find.

"Yeah, the guy with the hair, but he's got earrings and stuff too," said Cummins.

"There's a lot of hair in the house. I don't shed hair, but he does so the vacuum cleaner gets clogged up. I used shampoo last night as well and I use Pantene, but he can't get it in his hair."