8 hours ago
1
United Rugby Championship: Dragons v Ospreys
Venue: Rodney Parade Date: Saturday, 25 October Kick-off: 17:30 BST
Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Sounds & BBC Sport Online
Wales captain Jac Morgan is "bursting to play" and could make his first Ospreys appearance of the season at Dragons on Saturday.
But Ospreys boss Mark Jones says while Morgan closes in on a return from a pre-season injury, he will not risk the 2025 British and Irish Lion, saying "it won't be at the expense of him being fit, healthy and ready".
Morgan has not played since the Lions' series-winning tour of Australia in the summer.
Jones said Morgan had taken part in "big chunks of training this week" and is hopeful to have him available for Saturday's United Rugby Championship (URC) derby at Rodney Parade.
"If he's available from a medical perspective we'd definitely like to include him in the match squad, he is bursting to play," said Jones.
"We've really tried to look after him in terms of giving him time off, keeping him out of travelling to South Africa just so he can be around friends and family and getting his training done here as opposed to jetting around the world.
"We're hoping that's going to pay us back in the long run and he'll be feeling fresher and fitter, but it does mean he's probably a little bit short of game time than he would have liked going into the autumn block."
As he awaits Morgan's return, Jones has backed Morgan Morse to become a 50-100 cap international after being named in his first Wales squad.
The 20-year-old back row has been a notable omission despite having what Jones describes as a "great highlights reel".
After leaving him out of the summer tour, interim coach Matt Sherratt said Morse was "a hell of a player", but not an out-and-out number eight.
Morse and Ospreys team-mate James Fender are among five uncapped players in Steve Tandy's 39-man squad for next month's autumn internationals against Argentina, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa.
"As young men it will definitely be a great feather in their cap," said Jones.
A rising star of Welsh rugby, Morse was selected for Wales Under-20s just a week after his 17th birthday and has been a standout player at Ospreys in recent seasons.
"He's got a great work ethic and the coaches here are passionate about trying to help him maximise that potential," said Jones.
"He is still a very young man and we don't want him to just get a cap, we want him to be a 50-100 cap player.
"We want to put those foundations in with him and for him to be in Wales squads for many years to come."
There was no place in Tandy's squad for Ross Moriarty who joined Ospreys from Brive in the summer, but Jones backs the British and Irish Lion to bounce back.
"It's disappointing for Ross, but he came back to Wales to play for the Ospreys and to enjoy his rugby and he's been doing that," he said.
"I'm sure he had one eye on being selected and his performances for us in the first four rounds, I don't think anyone could have argued if he was included, he's been great.
"There's another tournament around the corner in the Six Nations and also things can change quite quickly in the autumn internationals."
