There are “no short cuts” to Jake Polledri regaining Premiership and international sharpness, says Gloucester George Skivington, after the loose forward was omitted from Italy's training squad.
Skivington says a Premiership return is still a little way off for Polledri, who suffered a hideous knee and leg injury in November 2020 that was worsened by slow-healing nerve damage.
Polledri was hopeful of being named in the squad for the Azzurri's Verona training camp ahead of the autumn internationals, but he is not among the sevenstrong loose forward division selected by head coach Kieran Crowley.
Gloucester team-mate Stephen Varney is included in Crowley's 35- man squad at scrum-half.
London Irish loosehead Danilo Fischetti and centre Luca Morisi have also made the cut for the six-day training camp starting on October 23, as has Harlequins fly-half Tommy Allan.
Skivington said: “I know Jake would want to do the camp, and Jake and I have discussed what he needs to do to get himself back up to being a regular Premiership rugby player.
“There's no secret that he's been out for two years and no one expects you to be Premiership-ready because the intensity is so fast and furious. But he's making steady progress.”
Polledri, right, returned for Gloucester in the Premiership Cup on September 21 and played at blindside flanker in Hartpury's 39-31 fightback win over Nottingham last weekend.
“Jake knows where he needs to work to build that fitness but there's no short cut to that. There's no gym work that can get you there,” said Skivington. “It's about playing games and building up that repeatability, and he's doing that nicely. I'm guessing Kieran Crowley probably thinks it's a bit too early, as we do for the Premiership at this moment in time. I think you'll probably see him back (for Italy) in the Six Nations period.”
Italy begin their autumn Tests against Samoa in Padua on November 5.
Meanwhile, Skivington revealed that new signing, Pumas prop Mayco Vivas, is yet to arrive from Argentina due to an undisclosed injury.
