Ball was forced to sit out the summer tour clashes with Tonga and Samoa as well as the Scarlets’ Guinness PRO12 title win after suffering a shoulder problem against Connacht.
Now back fit and ready to take to the field, powerful 26-year-old lock Ball hopes to start the new campaign on a high.
“I’m feeling good now. It’s been seven weeks since my operation and I’m getting back to where I was before the shoulder injury,” Ball said.
“I had to have a stabalisation done and I had a couple of tears in my rotator cuff too which I had to get sorted out. It was pretty straight forward, the operation went well and you won’t see me have any problems with it this season.
“For the last three years I haven’t had much of a pre-season so to give my body a rest from being smashed about is not a bad thing. I feel refreshed and mentally I’m in a good place.
“I’m just really excited about the season ahead and it was interesting for me to watch the British & Lions matches while I was reovering. I trained in a gym in Swansea while the games were on the TV and it was nice to have that there as an inspiration.
“That showed me where I want to get to. There were some mornings where I’d go into the gym and do a fat burner session on the bike and watch whichever Lions match was on at the time. That pushed me on because you want to be where those guys are.”
Ball may have missed the Scarlets lifting their first silverware since 2004 last term, but he’s a key man for both his region and country.
The former fast bowler started all five of Wales’ Six Nations games in 2017 and is hoping to continue that appearance record.
Wales face Australia, Georgia, New Zealand and South Africa on consecutive weekends this autumn.
“I was gutted to miss the back end of the season, but in one way it’s been good for me mentally because it’s meant I’ve trained that bit harder through this off season,” Ball said.
“I had a week off after my operation, but then I was straight back into it and I’ve made good strides. I’m feeling fit – I’ve been doing a lot of running – and I’ve been pushed really hard in my rehab. I’m loving playing for Wales and I can’t wait to get back into the squad.
“I’ve got to play well for the Scarlets to get picked, but I felt like I was building into more of a leadership role in the last campaign which was nice. I was running the line-out and things like that. I really enjoyed it and I want to taste more of it.
“The big thing about a leadership role is earning respect from your team-mates and that does take time. You have to work hard in training and carry yourself well around the environment and if you do that, it rubs off on those around you. Those are big things for me. Hopefully I’ll have more of a leadership role to come with Wales moving forwards.”
For tickets for Wales’ Under Armour 2017 Series clashes with Australia, Georgia, New Zealand and South Africa, click here.
