🔗 Share this article

The Tigers freshly appointed club captain Ollie Chessum has been given the green light to resume playing to Premiership rugby versus the Harlequins in the upcoming match. Although the majority of Lions tour squad members are barred from returning to their clubs until the following week, the Leicester player has obtained unique permission.

Chessum, who was injured for much of last season, began in sixteen matches and featured off the bench on four occasions. Despite being involved in every Lions Test match facing the Australian side, the welfare oversight panel supervising the condition of top players has authorized him to take on Harlequins at Leicester's stadium this weekend.

Divergent Situations for Tour Colleagues

Harlequins, in contrast, will be missing Chessum’s fellow Lion Marcus Smith, who must wait one more week before rejoining the fray. In contrast to Owen Farrell, who was also sidelined for an extended period and made his comeback for Saracens’ opening Prem game, Smith played in 34 matches during the last campaign, including five non-Test Lions tour games and must take a compulsory rest period.

Motivation from Previous Loss

Chessum, nevertheless, is eager to start and demonstrate that Leicester can thrive this season despite the departure of Michael Cheika and several key individuals. Leicester reached the Prem final last June, but Chessum reveals their thumping lopsided continental competition setback by Toulouse is the game that has supplied their most enduring motivation. “It created a feeling of ‘We are never going to that place again’. No matter how we prepare, regardless of how we are coached, regardless of game plans, we are never going back.”

“That was the biggest setback in the franchise's past and to acknowledge participation is shameful truly. So, it pains. You will forever remember and just make sure you never go through a result like that again.”

He stated, “I remember Cheik was emotional in the locker room. The reason we were in the final earlier was because of what happened after that game in Toulouse. There was a noticeable transformation in all of us.”

Fitness News from Other Teams

Bristol Bears, in the meantime, have revealed they have will be without starting number ten AJ McGinty for nine months after he was injured in their opening win over the Tigers. McGinty underwent an operation on his heel on the same day that his half-back partner Harry Randall needed surgery on his hamstring. Randall should recover in the coming months, while the recovery timeline for wing Gabriel Itoye, who also injured his thigh against Leicester and requires an operation, is still to be confirmed.

The Blue, Black and White, on their side, have stuck with Max Ojomoh at stand-off for their fixture at home versus the Sharks on Friday night. The Sharks, who similarly had a successful opening to the season in the opening round, have made two enforced changes to their starting XV, with two new faces taking over from the sidelined two key players respectively.