John Afoa will play again this season says Pat Lam despite the prop limping off in clear discomfort in his last appearance against Gloucester Rugby.
The former All Black looks unlikely to feature this weekend when league leaders Bristol Bears head to third place Sale Sharks in Round 20 of the 2020/21 Gallagher Premiership on Friday night.
The good news for Lam is as one world-class tighthead is ruled out, another looks set to return in the shape of powerful 54-cap Argentina international Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro who looks to have recovered from the calf injury he suffered against Gloucester back in February.
The prop was warming up with the Bears ahead of the 39-7 win over Gloucester Rugby last time out at Ashton Gate.
Of course, Bristol also have England star Kyle Sinckler to call upon, with the former British and Irish Lion showing some of his best form in recent weeks since switching to the Bears from Harlequins last summer.
Discussing Afoa, who recently choose to take up the option of playing one more season for the Bears alongside being the scrum coach, Lam said: “He is just going through [his rehab].
“The good thing is he will play again this year. It is not as bad as we first thought.
"He got caught in a pretty tricky position in a maul against Gloucester.
"He is working away with the medics but I expect to see John again soon.”
Elsewhere in the front row Irish hooker Bryan Byrne was added to the club’s unavailable list ahead of Round 19, with Lam opting to hand new signing Jake Kerr his first start for the club while Will Capon returned from a shoulder niggle to make the bench.
Discussing Byrne, Lam said: “He twinged his knee and it is a week-to-week thing and we will just see how he comes through.”
The blow of Bryne’s absence has been cushioned by the signing of one cap Scotland international Kerr, who was picked up having been on trial at the club after being let go by Leicester Tigers midseason.
Discussing Kerr, Lam said: “He has fitted in really well and he has picked up the detail really well, and there is a lot of detail in our game.
“He has put the work in and had run out in one of our friendly game.
“The number one job for a hooker is throwing and he has picked up the complexity of our lineout very quickly, he is a quick learner.
“If you saw his first throw against Bath [making his debut off the bench], Stevie Luatua called a tough throw to the back in those conditions and he nailed it.
“Those sort of things builds trust and fair play to the guy.”
Meanwhile, Lam revealed hooker Harry Thacker and scrum-half Harry Randall are both recovering well.
Forward Thacker has not played this season having had an operation on his neck back in October while Randall is out with a shoulder injury sustained against Bordeaux in the Champions Cup last 16 knockout round at the start of April.
Discussing the pair, Lam said: “They are coming along nicely, they have integrated into training.
“They are still under the guidance of the RTP [Return To Perform] team but they are doing well.”
Asked whether Lam would have any hesitation in playing Randall or Thacker in the upcoming high-pressure games, with neither man having played much rugby in 2021, the Bears director of rugby said: “Those guys have got credit in the bank.
“Talking about Jake Kerr, he has been here for a month, but Randall and Thacker have been here with me for three years now so they are very aware of how we want to play and they have shown what they can do.
“It is a different scale for everyone.
“It will be relatively easy for those guys to come back it is just about making sure they are physically ready.”
