Badger's return delayed by surgery
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Nick Cummins' return to the Western Force will be delayed for a few rounds as the Wallaby wing goes under the knife for minor surgery on his ankle.
Cummins, affectionately known as the Honey Badger, recently confirmed he would be returning to Perth but has one more game in Japan to play before focusing on the Western Force.
However, it does not look likely that Cummins will feature in the first three rounds at least according to head coach Michael Foley.
"Nick is having a bit of minor surgery on his ankle at the moment," Foley said.
"He will probably only miss the first couple of games for us.
"He has to go back to Japan and potentially play one more game there – but we are thrilled to have him back.
"Everybody is thrilled to have Nick back."
Cummins, who had played 74 matches for the Western Australian club over the past seven seasons, was granted a release from his contract on compassionate grounds to join Japanese club, the Red Sparks, at the end of the 2014 Super Rugby competition.
However, the wing, who has been capped 15 times for the Wallabies, will return to the Force after being granted leave from his current contract by the Fukuoka-based club.
Foley admitted that they were unsure for a long time whether Cummins would return to Perth at all and as such they had begun preparing for a season without him.
"We will miss him for the first couple of games this season, but the at the same time, for a long time, we weren't even sure if we were going to have him back," Foley added.
"We have prepared with Marcel Brache and a young guy Mitchell Scott from New Zealand to play in the position Nick would have normally played in.
"Although Nick won't be here, we have prepared for the worst – in that he might not have been here at all – so it is a real bonus that he is coming back.
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