James sees specialists
Bath and South Africa fly-half Butch James will see two specialists in order to work out the extent of his shoulder injury.
James sustained the injury to his right shoulder playing for South Africa earlier in the summer. Bath head coach Steve Meehan has said the player faces a long spell away from the game, which is a huge blow to the South West club.
James has been examined by doctors for the South Africa team but he has been sent back to the United Kingdom. This is so specialists who have experience of his medical history can provide a second opinion.
James's absence from the Bath team is a huge blow because he is a player with a lot of quality. However, Bath has started the Premiership season well and looks to have a squad that can cope without James in the side.
A big blow
Bath has a greater chance than ever before to lift the Premiership title at the end of this season. Owner Bruce Craig has put a lot of money into the club and James would have been expected to play a big role over the course of the year.
Sam Vesty signed for the club from Leicester during the summer and has filled in at fly-half with very positive results. However, he lacks a little bit of the charisma that James possesses, which is often needed in order to beat better teams.
James is also a very popular person in the dressing room. Long seasons often see many low and high points, and having the right characters in the dressing room is key to lifting the side after a bad result.
Meehan said: "Now that Butch has returned he will see specialists. The guy in London is a surgeon who has dealt with him in the past. That will be the best indicator. Once he gets down there we will have a better idea of where he sits. We have a pretty strong squad in the inside backs and can be pretty confident that we'd be able to handle this."
A great start
Bath has started the Premiership season very well with two wins from two games so far. James has not featured in either of these games and he did not feature during Bath's main pre-season preparations.
This shows that the side is capable of playing without him. The real problem will come if Vesty picks up an injury because the club will not have an out and out fly-half. However, there is still plenty of quality across the squad and the team should be able to adapt if necessary.
Meehan added: "It's not something that can't be remedied quite quickly and certainly the effort and the attention that the players have put into it this week reflects how important they understand it is."
Betting advice
Vesty has come in and has started to play very well for the side. He does not look troubled by kicking, when he is asked to do so, and scored a try during the first game of the season.
Bath is in very good shape and there is no reason not to back the side to win the league this year. There are a number of strong teams in the Premiership but Bath has played very well and it still looks as though there is more to come from the team.
The club is not going to rush James back from injury so don't be lured into any long odds on the South African fly-half having an impact this season. He may not feature until the second half of the season at the earliest.
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