Tuesday 14 July 2015 17:42, UK
Scotland centre Matt Scott says his time away from the game has made him more determined ahead of the World Cup.
Scott made a full return to training as Vern Cotter assembled his squad after a week away from their pre-season preparation.
Scott has not seen action on the field since Scotland's loss to Ireland in the Six Nations at the end of March, but the Edinburgh player is confident that he is returning to the game a stronger player.
"I'm feeling really good and delighted to be back full training," said Scott.
"I got the all clear just over a week ago and we had an off-week so I was chomping at the bit to get back training with the guys. My first session today went really well."
Scott went under the knife last summer to repair a dislocated shoulder, and missed the autumn internationals as a result. It was later found that one of the six anchors inserted into the shoulder was loose, which caused inflammation of a ligament from the bone fragment.
It was a prognosis that could have ended the 24-year-old's World Cup ambitions, but the 25-time international is now anticipating that he will be ready in time for his country's opener against Japan on September 23, and could make himself available for selection as early as Scotland's warm-up encounter with Ireland in mid-August.
"It was tough being told (I needed surgery) again, especially because we didn't know what was causing the trouble with my shoulder.
"The surgeon said it could have been three or four months, or it could have been six months which would really have put me in jeopardy of missing the tournament.
"I didn't know where I stood but the best-case scenario has happened so I'm thankful for that. The surgeon has done a great job.
"I've done semi-contact and done a bit of wrestling and I'm not thinking about the shoulder at all. It definitely feels better than it did after my first operation.
"I've been able to put in a good amount of work on my upper body strength, which I hadn't been able to do for about 18 months, which really put me back. I felt I wasn't able to make as much of an impact on the pitch.
“Now I feel I have got my size back."
