PEMBROKESHIRE rugby star Rob Evans says he is relieved to be back on the field, after recovering from concussion.

Evans, an ex-pupil at Spittal VC School and Sir Thomas Picton School, is fit again after almost 20 weeks on the sidelines.

The Scarlets and Wales loosehead prop made his long-awaited return in the PRO14 Rainbow Cup competition last month.

The 29 year-old says he has taken to his time on the road to recovery, having missed out on the full Six Nations campaign.

"At the end of the day you’ve got to take your time," said Evans, who has represented Haverfordwest RFC at junior level.

“The thing with concussion is that there’s no time frame where you know you’re going to be back to play again.

"It’s frustrating, because I was hoping to be involved in the Six Nations with Wales, and that was my first aim.

"But people reminded me that 'you’ve only got one head', so I took my time, because I was having various symptoms.

"I was feeling quite nauseous at times, and if I did any exercise over a certain level, I felt like I was going to collapse."

Concussion has become a more prominent issue, with former players launching legal action against the authorities.

Having battled back from injury, Evans suffered concussion in the Scarlets' Champions Cup win over Bath last December.

He had also previously suffered bad concussion after a collision when playing for Scarlets against Connacht in 2017.

Evans, who has been capped 39 time for Wales since his senior debut in 2015, said he was pleased to be back in the team.

"It’s been a frustrating year, but it’s brilliant to be back, and I’m feeling really good now," said the Pembrokeshire star.

“I was coming back from a neck injury, and then I was feeling brilliant, and it felt like I was starting to hit a bit of form.

"But then I picked up a concussion, and it knocked me for six really – I hoped it wasn’t going to be as long as it has been.

"It did take a bit of wind out of my sails, and to be honest it has taken quite a bit of time for me to come back from.

“All credit to the people who helped me, because I am feeling a lot better now, and it’s brilliant to be back out there."

Evans made his regional debut for the Scarlets in the 2012–13 season, having previously played for Carmarthen Quins.

As an Under-20s international, he helped Wales achieve third in the 2012 IRB Junior World Championship in South Africa.

He won his first senior cap in the 2015 Six Nations, and started four games in Wales’ 2019 Grand Slam campaign.

A neck injury, however, denied him a place in the World Cup squad, before suffering concussion at the end of 2020.