Refreshed Priestland nearing return

Scarlets and Wales fly-half Rhys Priestland is edging closer to playing again after suffering a serious achilles injury.

Scarlets and Wales fly-half Rhys Priestland is edging closer to playing again after suffering a serious achilles injury.

Priestland was forced to miss the entire Six Nations after being injured against Exeter Chiefs in the Heineken Cup back in December, with the initial expectation being that he would miss the rest of the season.

The 26-year old however is making good progress with his rehabilitation, leaving his hopes of selection for the Lions tour to Australia just about alive.

“I'm not going to put any pressure on him,” said Easterby to the South Wales Evening Post.

“I think he feels refreshed after having a break from competitive rugby. He's feeling really good about himself and he's feeling really good about his Achilles but that will be totally down to him whether he plays this season or not.

“If he's right, he'll come into contention. 'If he's not right, we wouldn't expect to push him and cause a setback. He's had a really good block of a couple of months of training.''