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Dragons head coach Bernard Jackman hopes to see Welsh maverick Gavin Henson back playing rugby in three weeks

The 36-year-old injured his knee in the Dragons' first PRO14 fixture of the season and has not played since.

With the Dragons struggling in the PRO14, Jackman remains hopeful Henson will return to action next month but admits his injury was more serious than feared.

"I hope that it is not the case that Gavin has played his last match," Jackman told BBC Sport Wales.

"The frustrating thing with Gavin is initially we thought it was a week or two injury.

"That is probably why there have been conflicting reports (about his future), because we didn't really know the extent of it at the start.

(Image: Getty Images)

"It was found there was a lot of fluid in his knee, which kept building up, so we had to really take a step back with him before we could move forward."

The region are now hopeful of seeing the former Welsh international stepping up his rehabilitation.

"It is looks like we've now reached a point where we can go forward again. He's going to pick up his running, starting next week," added Jackman.

"So it should be a return to play in three weeks if everything goes well.

"That seems to be the advice we have at the moment from the experts and we hope that remains the case."