'He’s almost a new recruit for us because he missed most of last year'

Harlequins boss Jason Gilmore says that having England loosehead Fin Baxter fit for the new season will be like having a new signing in his squad after he only played seven times last season because of a foot injury.

Quins’ baby-faced assassin, 24, last played for the club in a Champions Cup win over Bayonne in December and played in 18 successive tests for England before needing two operations on a foot injury.

But Gilmore says that Baxter, who has made 81 appearances for the club, will be ready for the opening game of the Gallagher Prem campaign against Bath later this month.

And he says there cannot be any repeat of the horrendous problems that kept a whole host of their frontline stars off the pitch for long periods last season.

“We’ve got to keep our best players on the pitch. Last year, we had far too much of our salary cap off the field. So, if you look at Fin Baxter, he’s almost a new recruit for us because he missed most of last year.

“He should feature in our friendly against Edinburgh the week before Bath. He’s back in full training, feeling good and looking good. Last season was difficult because, I would say, the England stuff came in as well with our staff.

“They wanted to get him back for the England tour. And he had screws and plates put in his foot, which was aggravating the joint, so when they were pushing it- and not getting into mad medical terms- it was just clunky in his foot.

“So they’ve taken all of that out, and since they’ve done that, he’s come on really quickly. So, yeah, frustrating, but potentially could be good for him in terms of having a break. He’s played a lot of rugby as a young man, and he’s as keen as mustard to get back into it.”