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Australian Rugby
Elsom set to face Samoa
ESPNscrum Staff
July 3, 2011
Elsom is hoping to lead the Wallabies in their first international outing of the year against Samoa
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Injured Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom is set to make his long-awaited return to action against Samoa on July 17. The 28-year-old flanker has been sidelined since suffering an ankle injury in his comeback game for the Brumbies in May having spent the previous six months on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. The out-of-contract Elsom, whose playing future post-World Cup is yet to be confirmed, is set to link up with the rest of the Wallabies squad this week as they step up their preparations for their first international outing of the year. ''I can't see any reason why I wouldn't be fit for the Samoan Test,'' Elsom told The Sun-Herald. ''It's almost been five weeks now and, for once, everything has gone to plan. I've had no complaints with it at all, other than the standard ones. ''It's the syndesmosis ligament that holds the ankle together and as soon as I could start running again, I've just been doing that. As long as I can tolerate it, that's the best stuff.'' The newspaper reports that Elsom is already back on his feet after having his leg locked in a space boot and expects to return to his full range of running drills this week. ''I've been running pretty well,'' said Elsom, who has finalised negotiations with the ARU but would not be drawn into further comment on his playing future in Australia. ''They say the calf stretch is important too, and running is the best for that. I'm running OK but there are still progressions to be made to that, like changing direction and that sort of thing. I haven't quite done that yet. But things seem reasonably straightforward. ''The fact that I was pretty well over my hamstring injury when I did this was a big help, and the hamstrings feel pretty good, too,'' Elsom said. ''I'm just getting into bigger and bigger loads and I'm handling that pretty well. ''My goal was Samoa but it was really a wait-and-see because one ligament was damaged pretty badly and you never know how that is going to recover. But after the first few weeks, it's gone pretty well.'' © ESPN EMEA Ltd
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