HEAD coach Carl Hogg insists he will place his trust in the academy rather than cast his net far and wide for new signings as the eye-wincing injury count racks up at Sixways.

With Francois Hougaard not expected to return to action until the New Year, a scrum-half will be the only arrival through the doors and Hogg is set to unveil the new man this next week.

Though Ryan Lamb took a few blows at the Stoop, he is not expected to miss any game time and any other additions to the mounting injury list will be replaced by youth, according to Hogg.

“We’re not really on the lookout for new players,” the head coach said. “We’re pretty happy with what we’ve already got.

“Obviously we will be to taking action at number nine with the injury to Francois and we’ll announce who we are bringing in next week on who will act as cover. But we have some young, exciting players who want to play and develop their careers at our club.

“We’re disappointed with the injury to Ryan, especially as the other player who challenged him was not punished. Ryan’s got a bit of whiplash, he was hit late but we think he’ll be fine. He also sustained a head injury earlier on but obviously came back on.”

One man who not only came through unscathed but with his stock on the rise was Ben Te’o, with the downside to his star performance being that England are likelier to retain his services for the next month.

The centre was a one-man wrecking ball on a difficult afternoon for Worcester – if he was not the instigator of a break he was invariably the first man in support.

“I thought Ben was outstanding after a somewhat stuttering start to his Warriors’ career,” admitted Hogg.

“He’s a class act and it is important for us as he gives a different dynamic to our back line.

“It’s not for me to say whether he should be starting for England, though – he played well for Worcester Warriors and that’s all that we’re concerned about. He gives us a different dynamic and really showed his class.”

Defeat saw Worcester fall to their fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions, though an injury-hit squad will be afforded another breather over the Anglo-Welsh Cup fortnight.

Young guns Perry Humphreys, Jamie Shillcock and Val Rapava Ruskin have been some of the bright spots of the campaign so far – and the squad is only set to get younger at Sixways on Friday night.

Worcester will open up their Anglo-Welsh Cup campaign against Bristol, also searching for a pick-me-up after their miserable start to life back in the Premiership.

And Hogg says the opportunity to impress in the competition should not be sniffed at.

“We’ll be looking at the Anglo-Welsh Cup as we would for Europe,” said Hogg. “We want to develop our young players as this club is about growth and Friday night will be a good opportunity for our younger players to put their hands up and develop their careers.

“Bristol will be an opportunity for them at Sixways under the lights."