Reigning PREM champions Bath counting the cost of a damaging pre-season

Bath are counting the cost of a damaging pre-season, which has led to two players undergoing surgery in the past week.

New scrum-half signing, Bernard van der Linde, has had an operation on the hamstring injury he suffered against Worcester on Friday night, while young fly-half/full-back, Ciaran Donoghue, has also undergone a surgical procedure to determine the extent of the knee injury he picked up the previous week against Munster.

With the club’s medical update giving no return date yet for Sam Harris, and internationals Finn Russell and Santi Carreras unavailable, Bath boss Johann van Graan will have to field a makeshift 10 for the opening game of the PREM season, away to Harlequins on Friday.

Max Ojomoh played 10 against Worcester, and scrum-halves Ben Spencer and Tom Carr-Smith have also had run-outs there in the past. Otherwise, he could decide to hand James Linegar his league debut, having been impressed by the England U18 star’s performance in last weekend’s PREM Rugby Cup defeat to Exeter.

No.8 is another problematic area, as Arthur Green was concussed in that match and is now following return-to-play protocols, along with lock Will Jeanes, who was replaced for the same reason.

One of Bath’s other specialist No.8s, Jaco Coetzee, is also unavailable due to the knee injury he sustained against Munster, with the club still trying to get to the bottom of the issue. However, Alfie Barbeary has returned to full training after a summer disrupted by a niggling back problem.

Meanwhile, England internationals Will Muir and Ted Hill are being assessed in the build-up to the Harlequins game after sustaining minor injuries against the Warriors.