Image source, Huw Evans picture agency
Image caption, Liam Williams was injured in Wales’ Autumn Nations Cup win over Italy
16 December 2020
Wales pair Liam Williams and Johnny Williams hope to prove their fitness for the Six Nations by returning for Scarlets next month in their final two European pool fixtures.
Full-back Liam suffered an ankle injury against Italy after centre Johnny had pulled out of the fixture with a calf problem.
The pair are set to miss the Christmas and New Year regional derbies.
Wales open their Six Nations campaign against Ireland on 7 February.
Scarlets, who face Toulon on 15 January and Bath eight days later, could have a rearranged Pro14 match against Leinster on the final weekend of January.
“If we look at the last two rounds of Europe, let’s aim for that,” said Scarlets head coach Glenn Delaney.
“It still might be in the balance at that point in time.
“We want them back as quick as we can and I know the lads will want to beat those targets, but if we looked at some time around then, that would be a fair assessment.
“They are chipping away nicely and they will really add to us when they become available. We want to make sure that when they come back they are fit and healthy.”
British and Irish Lions Test player Liam Williams started against Italy on 5 December before picking up his latest injury problem.
“Optimistically, at the time, we thought it might be six to seven odd weeks,” said Delaney.
“That’s probably still a fairly healthy time-frame from when he did it.
“When you look at that, there is probably another three or four weeks to go.
“He is progressing pretty well and improving perhaps quicker than we thought, which is great.
“He is a pretty optimistic character, so he would probably jump at it now, but we need to look after him.”
Johnny Williams had impressed for Wales against Georgia and England before being forced to withdraw from the side to face Italy.
“He has got a soleus [calf muscle] strain,” added Delaney.
“They are a bit strange. You can walk around feeling like there’s nothing wrong with you and then as soon as you put a bit of power through it, it’s ‘ooh, that hurts’.
“So we have to be quite cautious on that one. Again you are probably looking at six to eight weeks in total by the time he reconditions.
“The thing about soleus ones is we have had them before and they are pretty unpredictable. When you have got another tear you can predict a little bit more straightforwardly.
“So you are looking at a similar time to Liam.”
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