Bristol Bears’ emotional leader Joe Joyce is in contention to make his playing return from shoulder surgery to feature against Bath Rugby in Friday night’s Gallagher Premiership opener.
Joyce has not played in any of Bristol’s three pre-season games in the last month but the carrot of the derby game has helped speed up his recovery according to Bears director of rugby Pat Lam.
"Joycey is on the selection table for this week," Lam told BristolLive. “He has come back from surgery, he had surgery at the end of last season on his shoulder but he has done really well.
