Wilkinson set for comeback against Connacht

JONNY WILKINSON’S long-awaited comeback is probably just a week away, with the 25-year-old set to play a part during Newcastle’s opening pre-season game against Connacht in Galway next Tuesday.

England World Cup hero Wilkinson vowed last night to focus on enjoyment when he resumes his career after an eight-month injury lay-off.

England’s record international points scorer has not played since December 28 last year when he suffered a so-called “stinger” injury to his neck.

It also seriously affected his shoulder and arm and he underwent surgery two months later to try to rectify a career-threatening situation.

But fly-half Wilkinson, who has amassed 817 points in 52 tests for England, is now on the verge of returning to action.

Apart from their trip to Connacht, Newcastle also meet Munster and the Pertemps Bees in August friendlies before launching their Zurich Premiership campaign at newly- promoted Worcester on September 5.

“It’s a relatively fresh start for me. I’ve been out for a long time, and I am going to have to find my way around from game one,” said Wilkinson, who was joined by new Falcons signing Colin Charvis at a Kingston Park press conference yesterday.

“The aim is to come back better, but I can’t predict the future. I am starting off with a blank sheet of paper, and I am just going to go out and try to put into practice what I’ve been training on and see where it takes us.

“I really want to concentrate on just going out there and making the most of the time I’ve got. You never quite know when the finish line is for you, and for me, it could have been March this year.”

And that realism could point to a visibly more relaxed Wilkinson when he takes the field again.

“The great thing about playing in team sports is the memories you can take from the experiences,” he added.

“I’ve had some great experiences and I’ve got some great things to say that I’ve been involved in, but maybe I can’t say that I have smiled my way through it.

“Maybe, I want to do a bit more of that. It tends to fit the formula that if you are enjoying something you are doing, then you tend to do it better.”

England have missed Wilkinson’s presence, winning just three out of eight tests without him since his extra-time drop-goal against Australia guaranteed World Cup victory last November.

And England boss Clive Woodward will be boosted by Wilkinson playing again. England’s first game of the new campaign is against Canada at Twickenham on November 13.

Wilkinson was sidelined for England’s 2004 RBS 6 Nations campaign, when they finished a lowly third, and all three summer tests that produced defeats against New Zealand (36-3 and 36-12) and Australia (51-15).

Recalling his fight back to fitness, Wilkinson said: “It has been an up-and-down experience.

“The up part came when I accepted the fact that I was going to be out for a while - it was a lot easier when I realised that I had a true sort of deadline, or estimated time of playing, in my head.

“Up until probably April or May, I was not really sure what was going on, as to whether the strength would come back at all, whether I would be able to play in a couple of weeks, or whether it would be next year.

“Undoubtedly, having not had a break for a while, it has given me a real enthusiasm and an extra motivation. Coming back, there is a real excitement.

“I’ve said it before, but I really want to enjoy the game more. Being out for so long, it’s probably one of the strongest feelings I’ve got, coming back.

“I’ve learnt from my period away - I really need to enjoy what I am doing.

“There was probably a small period before the operation, and immediately after it, when I was hoping for a fairly immediate reaction and the boost of getting strength back in my arm.

“But when it didn’t happen, there was always a question that if the nerve was too damaged and didn’t want to come back, then it wouldn’t,” added Wilkinson, who will be Newcastle’s co-captain this term, alongside prop Ian Peel.

“That was slightly scary at the time, but all the tests that have been done show that it should come back, and ideally it will. It will just take time.

“That period when nothing was happening was quite frightening, but it was about three weeks later that I got a real sharp improvement, and from then on I haven’t looked back.”