Wales are confident centre Jonathan Davies will be fit for the World Cup semi-final against the Springboks after he suffered a knee injury.

Davies was named to start in the quarter-final against France but pulled out of the team just before the game after taking a knock to his knee. The 23-year-old Owen Watkin took Davies’ place in the starting lineup, but it was clear that Wales missed the influence of one of their senior players on both attack and defence.

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Wales skills coach Neil Jenkins said the 85-cap player should be ready to take part in full contact this week and prove his fitness for the clash in Yokohama on Sunday.

‘He seems OK. He is getting back to it, so I would like to think he is going to be taking a full part this week in training and obviously be fit for Sunday,’ Jenkins said. ‘He is a key player for us, a big player, someone that we need fit, realistically. Owen did exceptionally well on Sunday and is a talented player, but the more numbers we have, the better.

‘Jon trained most of the week last week but didn’t feel he was quite right. It’s an important game on Sunday and we need all hands on deck to get through that match. Jon is a world-class player and you need your world-class players fit and hopefully he will be available for selection. We will see how it goes this week.’

Should Davies not be fit, it is likely that Watkin would start alongside Hadleigh Parkes in midfield. Wales will also have the services of Test rookie Owen Lane, after the utility back was called up to replace injured loose forward Josh Navidi this week.

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