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Gallagher-Prime Minister
Bristol Bears coach Pat Lam revealed loose forward Ellis Genge was not included in England’s 36-man three-day camp this week after being given extra time following a summer of Nations Championship toil.
The England The vice-captain played all 12 of their Tests last season and Lam says he was given an extra week off to recover from the massive workload.
And he says Genge “looks fresh” and fully supports the decision made by Red Rose boss Steve Borthwick earlier this summer.
“We gave Ellis an extra week off. He obviously had a big job at the Nations Championship. So Steve warned me about it and, you know, we just backed it up.”
“He’s still coming back and he graduated to play from his holidays and breaks. Steve talked to tell us about it, and he called me about it, and everything was good. So he certainly looks fresh,” Lam said.
The Bears will be without their top two pitchers, Harry Thacker and Gabriel Oghre, on their way to the Exeter Chiefs in the PREM Rugby Cup this weekend. Thacker is recovering from a stretch injury against Gloucester.
While Oghre is now back in full training after undergoing surgery on a knee injury towards the end of last season, he hopes both will be back for the opening game of the Gallagher PREM season, which is just two weeks away.
Meanwhile, Lam confirmed it Argentina International outside center Matias Moroni broke his cheekbone and could be out for up to six weeks if he needs surgery.
“He had a fractured cheekbone, so they just have to work through that. We’re waiting for the specialist to sit down and decide if he’s going to have surgery or not on the back end. So it could be four, five, six weeks potentially,” Lam added.