Gloucester Rugby faces Bristol Bears on Friday night at Ashton Gate in Round 13 of the 2025/26 Gallagher Premiership, with uncertain fitness surrounding several crucial players.
Scrum-half Tomos Williams, the Wales international set to join Saracens this summer after two years with Gloucester, is in the final stages of recovery from a shoulder injury sustained last month against Harlequins. The injury occurred early in the match after a collision with teammate Jack Innard, forcing Williams to miss the subsequent game against Leicester Tigers.
Williams was joined on the sidelines by fellow scrum-halves Mikey Austin and short-term signing Callum Braley for the Leicester fixture, leaving relatively inexperienced options in Caolon Engfield and Rhys Price, who has spent most of the season on loan with Hartpury in the Championship.
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Gloucester head coach George Skivington provided a positive update on the squad’s fitness status: “Mikey Austin is fully back in training, and Tomos Williams is running again. Cal Braley is not quite there yet, but the squad is looking healthier overall. Tomos took a knock to his shoulder, but it wasn’t severe. After a busy period of rugby, especially post-Six Nations, these knocks take a bit longer to recover from. He’s close to returning, and we’ll decide on him for the weekend.”
The backline also looks set to regain strength with the likely return of winger Ben Loader, who has been sidelined for much of the campaign due to consecutive hamstring injuries. Loader’s last appearance dated back to December against Saracens. Unfortunately, Josh Hathaway will miss the rest of the season after suffering a hamstring injury.
Skivington remains focused on the team’s fitness as Gloucester enter the final six matches of the league campaign. Currently eighth in the table, Gloucester have just a one-point cushion over Harlequins in ninth, with crucial Champions Cup qualification spots at stake.
“We have as many fit players now as we have all season, which is a positive going into the closing stretch,” Skivington said. He also hinted at rotation in selection against the ambitious Bristol side: “Where there’s a tight call and it doesn’t risk performance, I want to give some players opportunities. The lads know that, and the healthy competition within the squad is encouraging.”
Gloucester will aim to harness this renewed fitness and squad depth as they look to climb the table and secure a berth in European competition next season.