WORCESTER Warriors forwards coach Phil Davies says he is hopeful that top academy products Matt Kvesic and Matt Mullan will be back from injury early in the new year.

England Under 20s international Kvesic had to be stretchered from the field in the 15-9 Aviva Premiership defeat at Exeter Chiefs on Saturday.

It was feared the back-row forward had broken his left ankle at Sandy Park, but the former Wales academy boss said the injury was not as bad as they first thought.

While the youngster will miss the Amlin Challenge Cup double-header with Bucharest Wolves, with the first game in Romania on Sunday, it is hoped Kvesic will be fit for the new year programme.

“Kvesic’s ankle isn’t as bad as we thought,” Davies said. “So that’s a great bit of news. The recovery time is shorter, but what that actual time is yet we don’t know because it has only been a few days.”

The injury to Kvesic has left Warriors’ back-row resources severely depleted with number eights Kai Horstmann and Adam Balding both already sidelined along with flanker Neil Best.

But, as well as the crisis in the back-row, Warriors were sweating over the shoulder injury to England international prop Mullan sustained during the Bath win a fortnight ago.

The 24-year-old has already had surgery on both his shoulders in his fledgling career and the Sixways outfit were understandably concerned for the former Bromsgrove School pupil given his past history.

“Matt is in good shape, the shoulder is pretty good and he’ll be back sooner rather than later — Balders and Kai are the same,” Davies said.

“Generally, everybody is slowly working their way back to full fitness which is great. Of course, we would rather not have them injured, but that is the way it is.

“The medical staff are working a bit of overtime, but they’re doing a fabulous job and as the weeks progress the timescales will be more apparent as we move on. It’s not good, but people are progressing.”

Warriors’ head coach Richard Hill had said that he was considering bringing new faces to help with the injury crisis at Sixways.

But Davies said: “Recruitment is a 12-month of the year job and we are constantly looking at retaining people and recruiting — it is an on-going process.

“There is no actual target where we can say that a player is coming in next week or whenever the case maybe.”

The former Scarlets’ chief also said that Samoan back-rower Richard Muagututia should be back with Warriors shortly after he returned to Australia to extend his visa until the end of the season.