Pat Lam has praised the work of his medical staff to get players back in a position to be in contention for selection in one of the biggest games of the year.
Captain Steven Luatua missed the 13-10 victory over Worcester Warriors on Sunday, with Samoan international Chris Vui switching from lock to blindside in his absence.
But the former All Black is reported to be winning the battle to be back to face derby rivals Bath Rugby this weekend at The Rec.
Bears director of rugby Lam said: “He is doing good.
“He was pretty beaten up after the Northampton game when he went off with neck issues there.
“But again Steve has put the work in with the medical and S&C guys and there is a great chance he will be ready for this week.
“Rory Murray with the medical team and Kev Geary with the S&C team and obviously the coaching group, there is such an alignment between all the staff in the three departments to work tirelessly to get players back quickly.
“It is pretty impressive what we have put in place in far as Return to Play, and then they all put the hours in.
“As I said when Charles [Piutau] came back early, players are going above and beyond to put the time in to get back - they are desperate to get back - and that really speeds things up.”
“We are getting record numbers of available players and guys breaking records for returning from injuries.”
Piutau was originally expected back from a knee injury he suffered in January for the derby game but in fact he returned to face Northampton two weeks ago.
After a rusty return the star full back exploded into life against Worcester with a man of the match performance which saw him gain 181 metres in attack from three clean breaks while beating 14 defenders.
John Afoa also returned to action earlier than expected from a rib injury and is expected to start against Bath while Lam reported centre Siale Piutau, who is currently sidelined with a serious knee injury but has been handed a one-year contract extension this week, is also ahead of schedule for his return to the field - with April a real possibility.
Talking about the general health of his squad going into Round 12 of the Gallagher Premiership with a chance to go second in the table, Lam said: “There are a few bumps and niggles. We come into this one off a tough, physical encounter [against Worcester Warriors] and we are about to head into another.
“This week has been about making sure individual rehab is being done and their work load monitored accordingly to get as many guys out there on the track.”
Winger Henry Purdy is a slight doubt having felt a slight strain in his hamstring against Worcester which saw him replaced at halftime but Alapati Leiua is expected to be fine after the treatment he received on the field at Ashton Gate last weekend was just for cramp in his calf.
