Simione Sawene: Guernsey hope Fijian forward will be fit soon

Simione Sawene was playing in Australia before moving to Guernsey

Guernsey are hopeful former Fiji Under-20 forward Simione Sawene will be ready to play within the next month.

The 23-year-old moved to the island in the summer, but has been out with a knee injury since the second game of the National Three London season.

"The next three or four weeks he'll probably start getting a lot of his fitness back," Guernsey director of rugby Jordan Reynolds told BBC Sport.

"Then we can start seeing some quality rugby out of him."

Sawene played in the 2011 Junior World Cup for Fiji and has also spent time with the Newcastle Knights in the Australian NRL.

He has joined Guernsey as he looks to further his rugby career after recovering from an illness.

Originally a second-row or back-row forward, Reynolds feels Sawene's best position will turn out to be prop forward.

"He's an absolute talent, he's got some great skills and is a big boy. He's 6ft 5ins and 130kg and he can get around the park pretty well," Reynolds added.

"I think in three or four weeks time, touch wood, injury free, we can start seeing some real quality from him.

"He's got sheer power in there and if you've got a prop that's as mobile as him, they're absolute gold dust, so we're trying to convert him and develop him into someone we can highly benefit from.

"I think in the long term after he's finished with Guernsey playing in the front row will benefit him in the future, this is kind of a development for him for the future."