Bath’s Finn Russell explains how a trip to the Caribbean saved his season

Finn Russell will spearhead Bath’s bid for Gallagher Premiership title glory after a week in the Caribbean that helped save his season.

It was little to do with sun, sea and relaxation, though, as the Scotland star flew 4,000 miles mainly for an appointment with a machine.

Russell suffered what his club described as “a significant groin injury” during Bath’s Investec Champions Cup round of 16 defeat against Exeter on April 6th.

As the final push for play-off places began, Bath’s fly-half talisman potentially faced a lengthy spell out of action.

But he was back playing five weeks later after throwing everything into a recovery process that underlined Russell’s searing commitment to the cause.

“When I got injured Bruce (Craig, Bath’s owner) wanted to take me out there,” Russell said. “There is a machine – he actually uses it for himself – that they use to heal.

“You have a little patch on your back that is connected to the machine, there is a probe that they use on the injured area and I think the connection between the pad on your back heats the muscle on the inside.

“I am sure a bit of Deep Heat would have been fine! But it worked, and I got back for the Newcastle game.

“It was an hour-and-a-half of physio in the morning and the evening, and there was training on the pitch with the physio and gym work and rehab.

“It was pretty full-on, more full-on than I thought it was going to be actually. I think we spent about half an hour on the beach!

“I ruptured the adductor longus and tore my ab at the same time. I did the same injury the other side when I was at Racing, playing for Scotland.

Time to turn Twickenham