Bristol Bears aim to have England prop tighthead Kyle Sinckler firing in time for their Heineken Champions Cup showdown with Sale Sharks on Saturday week, director of rugby Pat Lam confirmed
Sinckler appeared in all five Six Nations matches but was hampered by a back injury and then the concussion sustained against Ireland, both of which restricted his ability to train.
The 29-year-old tighthead was rested for Bristol’s Gallagher Premiership defeat by Saracens on Saturday and could also sit out this weekend’s clash at Northampton Saints.
Lam revealed the key target for the prop is for him to be ready for the European round-of-16 first-leg clash with Sale Sharks on April 9.
“Kyle had niggles and stuff from those last few weeks with England, so we’re giving him as much time as possible to be ready for the Champions Cup,” Lam said.
He is not alone, with scrum-half Andy Uren and winger Luke Morahan also in a race against time to be involved in the big knockout games and provide added quality to the Bears squad.
Following the defeat to Saracens on Saturday, Lam all but admitted Bristol's season is now all about success in Europe.
After an agonising 27-23 loss at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the 10th placed Bears are now 21 points off the playoffs and seven points off eight - and with it qualification for next season's Heineken Champions Cup.
That second gap may be bridgeable but with just five games and 25 league points, remaining the club's play-off dreams have vanished.
But after delivering Bristol their first senior trophy in 37 years when the Bears beat Toulon 32-19 to win the Challenge Cup final at Stade Maurice-David in October, 2020, former Heineken Champions Cup winner Lam, who captained Northampton Saints to glory in 1999/00, said: "This can still be one of the greatest seasons we have ever had.
"I said to the boys, 'When Northampton won the Champions Cup, anyone remember where they finished in the league?' The answer was sixth and no one cared.
"Ultimately there is an opportunity because we are in that last 16 and we are continuing to try and build.
"It is not about looking at the tables, it is about looking at the performance and finding areas to grow.
"If anything a positive to come out of this year is working out where we are as a group, evolving our game.
"A lot of people will always talk about the tries we score but the last four games we have secured every contestable ball that has been kicked at us and people don't see those fundamentals and the work we do on it.
"We know we can win every game and we know that because we look back and review them and see what we need to do, but have to earn the right to do that and that is what we have really focused on in the last six weeks.
"It is about the next performance. We are not at the Champions Cup yet but it is exciting and everyone knows it is coming. But we can't just arrive there and hope the performance will be there."
