George North still believes he could feature for Wales at the back end of the Six Nations as he prepares to return from a gruelling knee injury lay-off.
The star back, who has successfully converted from wing to outside centre with Wales, has the most international tries of all current players in the world game.
However, an anterior crucial ligament (ACL) blow has put his career on hold. Sustaining the injury last April forced North to miss the British and Irish Lions' tour of South Africa, plus the autumn internationals.
He was not included in Wales' 36-player squad for the Six Nations this week, absent along with several other notable injury casualties, including captain Alun Wyn Jones.
Champions Wales start their Six Nations defence against Ireland in Dublin on February 5, a date which has come much too soon for North to be considered. His short-term priority is getting in shape with his club side, the Ospreys.
"Hopefully I'll be back into some sort of team training next week," North told Stats Perform.
Asked whether there was any hope of him being available to Wales during the championship, North said: "There's two big steps: getting back to training full time with the Ospreys, then playing for the Ospreys with a view to potentially, maybe, catching the end of it.
"But at the moment I'm just focusing on playing back for the Ospreys."
Wales have home games against France and Italy on March 11 and 19 to finish the campaign, and North may be pushing for selection by then.
He has been a key component of the Wales team since making his debut as a teenager, and passed 100 caps during the Six Nations last year.
The 29-year-old has been itching to get back into action, but his absence from the pitch has allowed North some valuable family time.
He married Olympic cyclist Becky James in 2019, and they had a second son, Tomi, in October of last year.
North describes his wife as "a superstar" for helping him through a difficult rehabilitation period, and the former Northampton and Scarlets star is relishing his return to action.
"I take great confidence in knowing a load of rugby boys that I know have had single or double ACLs and they're still playing now, with no issues," North said.
"Luckily, I'm in a good generation where the medical care is advancing so quickly, so I'm benefiting from that. For me now, the focus is just to get back.
North, who is a Land Rover ambassador, is evidently relieved to be finally "on the home straight", as he puts it. He compares his current routine to that of a demanding pre-season, with full contact training still to come.
"I'm finding already this is the most frustrating part," he said, "because obviously you're a lot closer than you were six months ago."
He can only encourage his Wales colleagues from a distance as the Six Nations looms, and with the likes of Taulupe Faletau, Leigh Halfpenny, Josh Navidi, Ken Owens and Justin Tipuric also sidelined, it will be a challenging campaign for coach Wayne Pivac. North prefers to look at the positives that might come from this testing time.
"With adversity, you get exciting results," said North, "and the younger boys coming through that we've picked are exciting boys, and I'm excited to see how the boys come together to push on.
"Any Six Nations is tough. Obviously, you want your main team out there the best you can, and injuries are a nightmare for any team."
:: George North is a Land Rover ambassador. Visit landrover.co.uk
Bellamy wants more from Wales after extending unbeaten start
Craig Bellamy insists there is still room for improvement for Wales after seeing off Montenegro 1-0 to make it four games without defeat.
Harry Wilson's 36th-minute penalty earned Wales all three points in Monday's Nations League Group B4 clash at Cardiff City Stadium.
Bellamy, who succeeded Rob Page in July, is the first Wales head coach to avoid defeat in his first four games in charge of the senior men's side.
As well as beating Montenegro home and away, Wales have also drawn 0-0 at home to Turkiye and 2-2 in Iceland.
Reflecting on his side's latest win, Bellamy told S4C: "I was impressed by us being able to control the tempo of the second half, but we still need improvement on it.
"You will get breaks and it feels like you can score because they have players forward, but it's also dangerous then for the counter.
"That transitional game becomes a little complicated, whereas in the first half they sat a lot deeper which allows us to really control the tempo of the game. Of course at the moment that really suits us.
"But we have got to stay calm, in transition but even when we have knockdowns and balls in and around.
"You secure the ball and pass to your team-mates and there are still bits for improvement we need, but we were better than last time."
Match-winner Wilson has now been directly involved in nine goals in his past 11 appearances for Wales, as many as in his previous 41 matches.
The Fulham forward kept his place in a much-changed Wales side on the back of Friday's draw in Iceland, which showed seven alterations in all.
Wilson was the star performer in a game Wales dominated for large parts, with Montenegro failing to register a single shot on target.
It means the Dragons have avoided facing an effort on target in two of their past seven matches across all competitions, matching the tally from their previous 34 games.
For all Wales' dominance, though, Montenegro substitute Andrija Radulovic fired a 20-yard drive against the crossbar.
"There were a lot of changes, and a lot of players who all definitely deserved the opportunity to play as well," Bellamy added. "The Nations League is so good and so competitive."
Wales trail leaders Turkiye by two points heading into next month's contest in Kayseri, before the Dragons round off their Nations League campaign at home to Iceland.
Montenegro, bottom of the table without a point and on a record run of six losses in a row, host Iceland and Turkiye in their final two matches.
Wigglesworth promoted in England backroom reshuffle
Richard Wigglesworth has been promoted to England's senior assistant coach after a reshuffle of their backroom staff ahead of the upcoming Tests.
The former scrumhalf will remain in charge of England's attack but will also now act as the number two to Steve Borthwick, collaborating with him on the team’s game plan.
The pair previously worked together at Leicester Tigers in the Premiership, leading the team to the title in 2022.
"Richard's deep knowledge of the game and his excellent tactical understanding means he has become a key figure in our coaching team," said Borthwick.
"He shares our emotional commitment to English rugby, and I am certain he will play a crucial role in driving the standards of this England team."
Wigglesworth, who made 33 appearances for England, added: "This is an exciting time for England rugby.
"Steve has created a coaching environment based on collaboration and hard work, and we are constantly evolving and growing and striving for success."
Meanwhile, Joe El-Abd is working as the defensive coach, while Kevin Sinfield has agreed to stay on with the team in a reduced capacity.
England take on New Zealand on November 2 before continuing their other autumn internationals against Australia, South Africa and Japan.
Wales will benefit from Iceland collapse in long term, says Bellamy
Wales will benefit from the experience of Friday's Nations League draw with Iceland despite squandering a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2, believes boss Craig Bellamy.
Bellamy's reign began with a positive return of four points from Nations League matches against Turkiye and Montenegro, but they suffered their first major setback under him on Friday.
Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson scored to give Wales a 2-0 half-time lead at Laugardalsvollur, only for Logi Tomasson's strike and Danny Ward's own goal to earn Iceland a point.
Despite Iceland registering the most shots they have ever recorded in a Nations League match (20), Bellamy was not too disheartened by the result.
"It was good, I enjoyed it. It was what I expected to be honest, I said going out second half that this would be tough," Bellamy told S4C.
"We'll benefit so much from that 45 minutes, it's so good for us. In the long run this will be beneficial.
"Obviously to be 2-0 up and draw is disappointing, but it was a pleasing performance. It was about me learning about the players and them learning from us.
"It's never good to concede, I don't like it, we'll look at it again. I felt momentum played a big part. It's about us understanding when to take the sting out the game, which will come.
"Overall, I'm pleased with the performance, we've had two yellows which will mean a change on Monday, but it's predictable due to different styles of refereeing. It is what it is."
Despite a frustrating second half, Bellamy is the first manager in Wales' history to go unbeaten through his first three competitive games at the helm, with one win and two draws.
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