FORGOTTEN Worcester Warriors centre Max Stelling has joined England Sevens “to go and enjoy his rugby again.”

The 22-year-old made rapid progress last season, making 24 appearances for Warriors, scoring 17 tries and earning high praise from director of rugby Dean Ryan. The centre even landed a new deal at the club.

But Stelling has not made an Aviva Premiership appearance this term and has played just six first-team matches, completing only two.

Ryan said the centre was now going to spend “a little bit of time” with England Sevens and believes it will provide a welcome break for the youngster who needs to improve his defensive duties.

“We think it’s an opportunity for Max to get a bit of lockdown after not finding a solution in 15-a-side rugby at the moment,” said Ryan.

“I think the physical challenge of the Premiership is a test for Max - it’s as simple as that.

“He’s an amazing athlete with an amazing skill level but the physical elements of the Premiership have been a notch up on anything he’s experienced and he’s struggled to deal with it.

“There’s no point just keeping him here and telling him about it.

“We tried to freshen it up and have given him opportunities and now that ball firmly sits with Max.

“If you want to play at Premiership level there are elements of the game you have to deal with.

“We hope the experience of being in a different environment might just freshen him up.”

Wing Sam Smith has joined centre Alex Grove on loan at Championship side London Scottish, with prop Mike Daniels linking up with centre Heath Stevens at Nottingham.

But Ryan said: “I don’t there’s any benefit of Max running around in the Championship and running around everyone. He did that last year. For Max to develop, he needs to solve the Premiership issue.

“He’s got too much talent and is too much of an athlete to be a Championship player.

“Sevens rugby is a different dynamic and there’s a lot of pressure around the breakdowns.

“I think the New Zealand Sevens and Fiji Sevens is not as loose as people think it is.

“It’s very physical so we see him in a different environment and see how he responds.

“It’s not that we want him to play sevens but we just want him to go and enjoy his rugby again.”

Ryan admitted it was a concern for Warriors to have so many youngsters sitting on the sidelines.

Smith, who joined the club from Harlequins in the summer of 2014, was injured in pre-season and has fallen behind the likes of Cooper Vuna, Bryce Heem, Tom Biggs and Andy Short in the pecking order.

“We have got a few guys out on loan at the moment and, hopefully, Sam Smith is going to play a bit of rugby with Scottish with Grove,” said Ryan.

“It’s a real concern for the game and, especially a club like us when we’ve got so many youngsters but where do they play?

“Sam has not played since the warm-up games so he wants to get a bit of rugby under his belt so he will hopefully get some game-time. This is nothing to do with futures - it’s to do with the fact Sam hasn’t played rugby since September.

“How can Sam be considered for the Premiership when he hasn’t played a game?"