‘Long road’ back for England’s Lawrence – Bath boss

Ollie Lawrence, England and Bath’s center, had surgery to repair his ruptured Achilles tendon, but his team-mate Johann van Graan says he is on the verge of recovery.

Eight minutes into England’s Six Nations victory against Italy on March 9, Van Graan claims that “there is no timeline” for his return and that he was taken off on a medical cart.

The 25-year-old has almost always played for the club and country.

The rugby union’s head of rugby, Van Graan, told BBC Radio Bristol, “We’ll work with Ollie to make sure he returns at the right time.”

Since joining Bath in 2022, Lawrence has started every one of England’s 17 previous games, including one that dates back to the 2024 Six Nations, with the only exception of 32 minutes when he was substituted for 32.

He was firmly favored to make Andy Farrell’s squad for the summer international tour of the British and Irish Lions.

“The game is heavily impacted by injuries. This was a terrible time for him, Van Graan said, “I guess there’s never a good time.”

“I thought he had been one of our best players all season.” He won three or four man-of-the-match awards consecutively. He was one of the best players that day during that Leinster game.

He represents England in outstanding fashion. He had a very good chance, in my opinion, despite Faz [Farrell] choosing the Lions and his performance at the Six Nations.

When Bath take a two-week break and return to the league action this weekend, it’s likely that they won’t have winger Joe Cokanasiga.

Last weekend saw Bath finally win the Premiership Rugby Cup against Exeter, ending a 17-year wait for a trophy after Cokanasiga went off injured.

According to Van Graan, “Joe struck the lower leg with a bang.”

He’s under the watchful eye of Rory Murray [Bath head of medical], but I’m not going to speculate on his length of absence [but hopefully it’s not too serious and we see him back soon.

In a weekend of derby action at the Recreation Ground, Bath are six points clear at the top of the table and will face Gloucester, a rival from West England, on Sunday.

After losing to Northampton Saints last season in the final, Bath are now in a strong position to win their first Premiership since 1996.

Van Graan claimed that the team is only focusing on their upcoming game.

“We don’t pay too much attention to the outside noise because we know there is a lot of speculation and expectation,” he said.