Injury update: Kellaway close to return
Some big names are well into their rehabilitation process for the Rebels as the Super Rugby Pacific season has now kicked off.
Wallaby Andrew Kellaway is recovering well from his foot injury and is expected to return in three to four weeks. Kellaway has not taken the field since fracturing his foot during Australia’s one-point loss to world number-one-ranked Ireland in Dublin.
Having spent the majority of his previous few months in rehab, Kellaway is itching to return and has recently returned to high-intensity running.
“The official timeline has me coming back around round six against the Drua in Fiji," he told Rebels Media.
“I’m back to pretty much full sprinting, we’re starting to touch the top end so everything’s back to normal so it’s about doing it repeatedly.”
Fellow Wallabies Rob Leota and Matt Philip are also rehabbing well, with Leota’s Achilles tendon recovering as expected. He is expected to start running by the end of the month. Philip, who is recovering from his ACL tear, is hoping for a return before the end of the season.
Philip has been using his downtown to round out his skills off-field, picking up work with real estate company Colliers selling development sites.
"It's been awesome," Philip added.
"At the start of the ACL rehab, there's not much you can do so I didn't want to be banging my head against the wall.
"I wanted to get that positive out of all the extra time I have not been playing every week. I've made a lot of development off the field so it's been great”.
Glen Vaihu, who suffered a hamstring strain late in the pre-season, is on track to return in two to three weeks, as is Illy Vudogo, who is recovering from an ankle injury.
Ray Nu’u, who suffered a knee ligament injury, is still in the early stages of his rehab and will begin running in the next couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, Sam Talakai and Joe Pincus will be unavailable for tomorrow night's clash against the Waratahs due to a head knock and minor quad injury.