CORY Hill is set to return to Dragons training at the end of the month after his World Cup woe – but boss Dean Ryan won’t set the Wales lock a deadline for his comeback.

The 27-year-old was selected by Warren Gatland for Japan 2019 but was released from the squad without playing a game after failing to recover from a stress fracture of his leg.

Hill, who has not played since injuring his ankle when scoring the crucial try against England in the Six Nations Grand Slam, had been aiming for Pool D clash against Australia at the end of September.

South Wales Argus:

The forward will not feature in Friday’s Guinness PRO14 fixture against Connacht in Newport and will return to regional duty in Ystrad Mynach to be assessed ahead of the home clash with Glasgow on October 26.

“I have spoken to Cory and told him to go and have a couple of weeks away,” said director of rugby Ryan.

“He will have been chasing deadlines for a long time now and we didn’t want him to come back and have a Dragons deadline put on him.

“We want to get it right because mentally it will have been tough to have gone all that way and got so close while still chasing a deadline.

“We felt that getting away was probably the biggest stimulus to him coming back fresh, so he will come back in the week of the Glasgow game.

“Then we will get a better understanding of what we need to do and the last thing we are going to do is rush it again. After a long chase for a World Cup that he hasn’t made, what is important is that we get Cory right.”

South Wales Argus: CAPTAIN: Rhodri WilliamsCAPTAIN: Rhodri Williams

Hill has captained the Dragons for the past two seasons but Ryan is set to name his skipper on a match by match basis.

Scrum-half Rhodri Williams has led the team out in the opening two rounds of the Guinness PRO14 and is set to continue in the role against Connacht on Friday.

“I haven’t really had any conversations (about the captaincy),” said Ryan. “I believe in leadership groups and I believe in people who are captains at any one time.

“If Cory comes in and is a really influential leader, fantastic. We’ve got a leadership group here that is trying to get better and I am pretty sure that Cory will be straight into that.

“Then who captains the side is the least of my worries, because good leadership comes from a range of different people.

“Rhodri Williams is quieter and leads by example, Sam Davies holds people to account and is more demonstrative in his calling, Richard Hibbard and Lewis Evans are influential.

“Nobody has all the answers, everybody is reliant on the group and people’s strengths and weaknesses. We can be calmer at times, smarter at times and that group is progressing nicely.”

The Dragons name their team on Thursday with wing Ashton Hewitt in the mix after missing the away win at Zebre with a cut to his lip that required 14 stitches.

Flanker Ollie Griffiths remains a doubt after his round one groin injury from Munster, as is loosehead Ryan Bevington after a late withdrawal against Zebre because of a knee problem.