Aviva Premiership
Welsh absolve Scarlets of Henson blame
ESPN Staff
August 29, 2012
Gavin Henson feels the force of Michael Claassens, Bath v London Welsh, The Recreation Ground, Bath, August 11, 2012
Gavin Henson will miss six to eight weeks of action © Onside Images
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Players/Officials: Gavin Henson | Deacon Manu
Tournaments/Tours: Aviva Premiership

London Welsh have confirmed that they will not be pursuing any further action over the incident surrounding Gavin Henson's injury.

The Exiles' marquee signing suffered a fractured cheekbone in their clash against the Scarlets at the weekend and faces a month out of action. London Welsh had originally hinted at foul play being the reason behind Henson's injury but they have now confirmed via a statement that they "are satisfied that the injury to Gavin was caused by an accidental clash of heads, and the club does not attach blame to any Scarlets player".

Reflecting on the blow, coach Lyn Jones revealed Henson was initially angered by the challenge but does not want it to over-shadow the team's preparations for their Aviva Premiership debut. "Gavin has been angry, he's frustrated but he's coming through that and knows that he's got to draw a line under it," he said. "We've discussed the whole affair with him and he's not interested in pursuing it any further. I just want what's best for my players and what a player wants, that's what he gets."

And Jones insists that his side can weather the blow. "We're not going to miss much apart from potential," he told the Daily Telegraph. "Gordon Ross is a seasoned campaigner and part of coaching is to deal with thunderbolts, turning negatives into positives and that's what we've got to do here. Nobody likes to see a lad get injured but it happens. Gavin's season will be starting a bit later than expected, and in the long-run, that may be no bad thing. "

Scarlets prop Deacon Manu was originally thought to be the individual who caused Henson's injury but the Welsh region have insisted that Manu's late charge on Henson was not the cause of the fly-half's fractured cheekbone.

"There was an incident where Gavin and Deacon came together after a kick was made," Scarlets backs coach Mark Jones told Wales Online. "Deacon made contact with Gavin, which Gavin could have easily avoided. Unfortunately there was a penalty against Deacon and the matter was dealt with.

"But Gavin later clashed heads with Adam and he's had a nasty crack to the cheekbone. It's fairly harsh on Deacon because the injury wasn't done by him, it was with Adam in a purely accidental incident and I have the footage if anybody wants to see it.

"I'm gutted for Gav and it's awful he's going to miss six weeks, but it's equally unfair on Deacon that he is being chastised because he was not responsible. People say things in the heat of the moment, I have done it myself and no rugby player is an angel.

"But it was one of those things where Gav clashed heads with Adam, it was a pure accident. It is best to draw a line under it and Deacon would like to move on, and I am sure Gavin would be more than happy to as well."

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