Jon Mills would not appear to have much in common with Wayne Rooney and David Beckham, but first impressions can be deceptive.

Last October saw the London Welsh club captain join a very exclusive club when he suffered a stress fracture of his fifth metatarsal – which needed a pin inserted to help it heal.

It kept the 28-year-old out for months, but he returned to action last Sunday to help the Exiles gain the point they needed to secure their place in the Championship semi-finals as they lost 26-20 to Bristol.

“The Wayne Rooneys of the world have had it, now they can add Jon Mills to the list,” said Mills.

“I was told it could take up to 12 weeks, so I saw that as worst case scenario.

“But, when I got to that 12 week period only to be told it was another four weeks I was a bit devastated, but that’s injuries, it’s part of the game.

“It’s taken a bit longer than we wanted it to, but it feels really good now.”

Mills played 18 minutes in the defeat on Sunday, in which Welsh came back from 23-6 down to secure a losing bonus point thanks to tries from Vili Ma’asi and Hudson Tonga'uiha.

“It would have been nice to have had a win, but it’s good to be back,” added Mills.

Lyn Jones’ men can still finish top of Pool A should they beat Nottingham on Saturday and Bristol slip up Doncaster.