Owen Farrell has handed Saracens a sizeable boost by closing in on a return from hamstring trouble.
The former England captain is on course to be fit for Saracens’ Gallagher Premiership run-in, and could even yet be fit for Saturday’s home clash with Gloucester.
Farrell limped out of Saracens’ 41-30 defeat at Northampton on Friday, March 29, missing the 45-12 Investec Champions Cup defeat at Bordeaux.
The 32-year-old has made a partial return to training with the Men In Black, and faces checks on Thursday that will determine whether he can feature this weekend.
“Owen’s going through the normal rehabilitation work with the physios, but he’s in and around the team doing bits of training now,” said attack coach Kevin Sorrell.
“He will be assessed on Thursday, so we’ll see how he goes then.”
Farrell will end his 16 years of senior rugby at sole club Saracens this summer, when he heads to Racing 92 in Paris.
The Saracens talisman has led the north Londoners to six Premiership titles, and is determined to sign off with lucky number seven this term.
Northampton top the table however, with the next seven teams locked on an equal return of eight wins and six defeats from the 14 rounds. Saracens sit third in the table with four matches to play, with trips to Bath and Bristol following Saturday’s home clash with Gloucester.
Mark McCall’s side will then complete their regular-season schedule by hosting Sale on May 18, as the race for the play-offs hots up.
Assistant coach Sorrell admitted everyone at Saracens has been relieved to see Farrell reach the point where he should now able to make a quick return – with the aim of finishing his long stint at the club on his own terms.
“Owen’s a generational player and his contribution to this club is huge,” said Sorrell.
“All those plaudits will come out in time, and rightly so, but we want to give all those boys the right memory and feeling towards the end of the season.
“But we’ve got to understand how we go about doing it, and it’s the process and what we need to put in place week to week.”
