Kieran Gething is hoping a comeback win in Cardiff on Saturday night can kick-start his quest for more titles after a long spell out of the ring due to injuries and the coronavirus pandemic.

The Welsh super-lightweight champion faces Manchester’s Josh Cook over four rounds at the Vale Sports Arena in the first professional show on Welsh soil since March 2020.

Pontypool’s Gething (9-2-2) was last in action in November 2019 when he drew with Jeff Ofori in a 10-round contest at London’s York Hall.

Since then, the 27-year-old Welshman has undergone elbow surgery and overcome a rib injury picked up in sparring.

“I had an elbow injury that needed to be operated on and that put me out for a while,” he said. “My elbow was on and off for 10 years and it got progressively worse.

“There was a calcified bit of bone making the joint inflamed. They took the joint out and filed the bone down, but they had to cut through the tendon to do it.

“I came back from that and then picked up a rib injury in March, and that put me out for another couple of months.

“I’ve taken this fight at short notice but I’m more than capable of getting back in there, doing four rounds and shaking off the rust.

“I’m really looking forward to it. I was supposed to be headlining the last show in Britain before Covid.

“That should have taken me on to bigger fights, so it’s good to be back and hopefully starting building towards something big again.

“The plan is for a six-rounder before the end of the year and then see what happens in 2022.

“Names like Gary Cully, Darren Surtees and Sean McComb have been mentioned, and even Lewis Ritson, so there are some good fights out there to be made.”

On facing Cook (0-3-1) on the first show in Wales in 560 days, Gething added: “Being a part of the first one back is great.

“The weigh-ins are now the day before which gives fighters a better chance to rehydrate.

“And even though there are so many going on, the shows are selling out, which is a bonus.”