Flatman targets October comeback

Bath and England prop David Flatman believes he could be back playing in early October after a successful operation on his Achilles tendon.

Flatman, 24, went under the knife last Thursday and while cautious about pin-pointing a return, expects to be back in a Bath shirt not long after the Zurich Premiership season kicks off on September 4.

He told the official club website, www.bathrugby.co.uk: “The operation went well.

“The ankle is still a little sore at the moment and there is quite a lot of bruising, but it is good to know that I am now on the mend.

“I am not going to target any sort of return to action yet. We are probably looking at around 12 weeks at the moment which will rule me out of the first few Zurich Premiership matches.

“However, you never know it could be sooner as Chris Mallac and his medical team are extremely good at what they do – we will have to wait and see.”