Bristol Bears will be without British and Irish Lions prop Ellis Genge for the visit of Gallagher PREM leaders Northampton Saints on Saturday evening.

Bristol Bears director of rugby Pat Lam has opted to use this weekend to rest the star prop after the 30-year-old featured in all four of England’s Autumn international wins.

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According to World Rugby’s regulations, players who have played significant minutes in the Quilter Nations Series are required to have a mandatory week off in one of the first three club games in this block. With England playing Argentina on Sunday, Lam explained why he has been left out for Saints.

He said: “Gengy is having his break now. He obviously has been involved in all four Test matches and fully involved in the leadership of England and driving the success of that team, so we thought it was best for him to get away on holiday, and he will be back next week, but all the other internationals are back in.

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It was a no-brainer to rest Ellis. I have been there playing international rugby as a leader. And it is not just the physical part of it, when you are a leader, you don’t just go back to your room after training and have a coffee, there is so much to do, and it is very taxing. He needs a chance to refresh.”

Lam confirmed that hooker Gabriel Oghre and lock Joe Batley are both back from injury niggles to be in contention to face Saints, along with a raft of returning internationals.

Louis Rees-Zammit come back in from Wales, having hit the ground running on his international return to rugby after nearly two years out while he chased his NFL dream.

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“I thought Louis showed his quality this Autumn, particularly in that All Black game,” Lam said. “Every day is a great growing day for him, but I really love his attitude to go after it.”

Argentinians Pedro Rubiolo, Santi Grondona and Benjamin Elizalde are back in the selection mix as well, along with Fijians Kalaveti Ravouvou and Bill Mata, to add some stardust to the Bears’ line-up at Ashton Gate this weekend.

Noah Heward, Jimmy Williams, Max Lahiff, and Harry Thacker all returned from injury during the PREM Rugby Cup block to provide increased competition for places.

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Bristol are set to issue a more comprehensive injury update on their full squad on Friday, with Lam confirming he expects a trickle of returning players off the club’s extensive unavailable list each week.