WALES have received a huge boost ahead of the World Cup with the news their number one danger man Shane Williams has made a full recovery from a knee injury.

The 2008 IRB World Player of the Year picked up the knock in Wales’ Six Nations win over Ireland in March.

The injury meant the wing missed Wales’ last game in the tournament against France and the friendly with the Barbarians last month.

Wales fans will breathe a sigh of relief that the country’s record try scorer, with 53 touchdowns, is back and raring to go.

But the 34-year-old Ospreys star is taking nothing for granted in his bid to be selected for his third World Cup.

The 2005 and 2008 Grand Slam winner, like the rest of his international teammates, is halfway through the first of two skills and fitness training camps in Poland for players selected as part of a pre-World Cup squad.

Williams, who has won 79 caps for Wales, said he has been keeping his nose to the grindstone.

“This is the first proper running I’ve done since the injury in March,” he said.

“But I’m back doing everything the rest of the squad are doing, working hard on both skills and the conditioning side of things here in Poland, and I’m feeling good.

“All I need to do next is catch up with them because the boys have been training really hard.”

He says the use of cryotherapy at Spala’s Olympic Sports Centre has been a great help in his rehabilitation.

Cryotherapy is the use of low temperatures in medical therapy and cryogenic chamber therapy is a treatment whereby a patient is placed in a room for short duration of no more than three minutes at freezing temperatures.

He said: “The cryotherapy will kick-start that process (the recovery) though and, contrary to some of the other boys, I actually don’t mind it.

“We are down to -140C, which is severe cold – that’s low enough to have actually given some of the boys cold burns on their skin.

“But it is mentally tough as much as anything else, you have to tell yourself it’s doing you good.”

The 2005 and 2009 Lions tourist said he will have to prove his is good enough for this autumn’s World Cup in New Zealand.

“I’m always looking over my shoulder, we have some good youngsters coming through, but I’m not ready to let go yet,” he said.

“I’m playing catch up at little bit at the moment because I obviously haven’t been able to run since March, but I know I can’t relax for a second. I’ve got it all to prove again now and I hope to be able to play in each of those summer internationals (England home and away and Argentina home) and be able to stake my case.

“No one goes to a World Cup on reputation and I wouldn’t want to be there myself if that was the case.”

Williams added: “We are looking to peak as a squad towards the end of August, physically and also as a team, and I want to make sure I do that personally as well.”