Bath downgrade severity of Sam Underhill’s ankle injury, but Matt Garvey faces lengthy spell out

Bath flanker Sam Underhill is expected to miss a minimum of four weeks with ankle ligament damage, director of rugby Todd Blackadder has confirmed.
The Blue, Black and White travel to Sixways Stadium on Saturday to take on Worcester Warriors and Blackadder provided an update on Underhill and several other players currently receiving treatment for injuries.
Underhill gave the club a scare when he went down in the 23-16 victory over Leicester Tigers at the weekend, but Blackadder has said the injury is not as bad as first feared after receiving a four-week prognosis from a specialist.
A source of concern lies with captain Matt Garvey who has not been as lucky as Underhill. The lock/back row is set to miss three months after an x-ray revealed a fracture to his ankle which will require surgery.
Director of rugby Todd Blackadder told Somerset Live: “It’s a big blow for Garvs and the club. I thought he was outstanding before he suffered the injury on Sunday.”
Captaincy duties are likely to be assumed by scrum-half Will Chudley who could be joined in the Bath backline by Ruaridh McConnochie for the Worcester clash. The former England 7s star is dealing with a minor hamstring issue picked up in the second half of the win at the Rec and has been described as ‘touch and go’ for Saturday’s match.
Prop Nathan Catt could possibly be rested in favour of Jacques van Rooyen as he has been playing through a sore shoulder.
Blackadder has been boosted by the return to full training of long-term absentees Jonathan Joseph and Taulupe Faletau, though both remain a couple of weeks away from being in contention to play.
The outlook for full-back Anthony Watson is a little more distant as he continues his comeback from a torn achilles, the England international has revealed he will be eligible for selection in six weeks.