Ollie Lawrence close to emotional comeback after lengthy lay-off

Ollie Lawrence could make his comeback from the Achilles injury which wrecked the end of last season against his former club Worcester a week on Friday.

The Bath centre lost out on the possibility of a Lions tour after being hurt against Italy in the Six Nations.

However, after a seven-month lay-off, which also saw him miss out on Bath’s historic treble, Head of Rugby Johann van Graan has revealed Lawrence is on course to be included for the trip to Sixways.

“There’s a chance that he could be involved,” said van Graan.

“He set himself a specific target of when he wanted to be back and I haven’t seen one moment of him feeling sorry for himself. All credit to Ollie for the way he has come to terms with this. He took this head on.

“I think you’ll see a better rugby player, a better person and a better teammate. It will take some time to get to peak performance because he has been out for some time, but I must give him immense credit for the way he has approached this – and the environment that we have to enable him to get to this point.”

Lawrence’s form in the England midfield last season had made him a frontrunner for a place in the Lions squad for the series against Australia. Before his injury, he had started 16 of England’s previous 17 Tests.

Worcester would make for a poignant setting for a return for the 25-year-old as his old club prepares for a comeback of their own.

Lawrence came through the Warriors academy and played 57 senior games for the club, but left for Bath in 2022 when they went into liquidation.

Worcester will return to professional rugby in the second-tier Champ this season after being controversially allocated a spot in the 14-team league following the resurrection of the club last year.

Head coach Matt Everard has assembled a competitive-looking squad which includes former Warriors favourite Matt Kvesic and ex-Lion Billy Twelvetrees.

The friendly with Bath is said to be heading towards a Sixways sell-out, and Lawrence’s return will add another layer of interest to the fixture if it happens.