Aviva Premiership
Gloucester ease Burns fears
ESPN Staff
August 10, 2012
Gloucester's Freddie Burns gets to grips with Exeter's Haydn Thomas, Gloucester v Exeter, Aviva Premiership, Kingsholm, Gloucester, England, March 24, 2012
Freddie Burns should be fit for Gloucester's season opener © Getty Images
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Gloucester boss Nigel Davies has pencilled in Freddie Burns for their pre-season friendly against the Cardiff Blues on August 18.

Burns sustained a knee injury in the Kingsholm leg of the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Sevens Series on July 26 and the sight of him leaving the ground on crutches and in a knee brace would have worried the Gloucester faithful. But Davies hopes to have Burns back in action a week on Saturday and firing come the start of the new Aviva Premiership season.

"Freddie's fine, which is great news, he should be available for selection for the Cardiff Blues game," Davies told the Gloucester Citizen. "We've always got the odd niggle, and we've got one or two long-term injuries, but apart from that we're very healthy at the moment and that's great news.

"We have done a lot of contact work, we have been physical at times but the way we've managed players, kept them fresh and energised, and they are all enjoying what we're doing. When you're successful and when you're winning games, it's strange how your injury rate is ten per cent less than it would be otherwise.

"Hopefully we can keep that spirit and keep that feeling, and push things forward now. In terms of the preparation, I'm really comfortable where we are, and what we've got going into the first game. "That might change pretty quickly once we've had the first game. It probably will, whether we win or lose, but we're ready to play rugby now, and that's what we're all about. They've got to be energised about playing on a Saturday, and got to be all about being ready for matchday."

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