THE physical nature of fit-again forward Cornell du Preez has helped to make training at Worcester Warriors “realistic” to Gallagher Premiership matches.

That’s the view of Ted Hill who is delighted to see his back row colleague back making his presence felt in practice after his seven-month long injury lay-off.

Du Preez returned to full training last week following his recovery from a fractured larynx sustained against Wasps on the opening day of this season.

The throat injury resulted in him losing his voice for several weeks and spending more than a month in hospital undergoing surgery.

Du Preez is now battling for a place in the side.

And 19-year-old Hill said the Scotland international’s confrontational approach to the game was rubbing off on his team-mates as Warriors prepare for Saturday’s crunch clash at Bristol Bears (3pm).

The 27-year-old has also been added to Worcester’s European Challenge Cup squad ahead of next week’s home quarter-final against Harlequins.

“He is physical so he is great to have in training as he makes it realistic to a game situation,” Hill said.

“He is also a smart player and having played at a high level he knows exactly what he is doing.

"He is a great guy to learn off and imitate in some ways.”

Du Preez joined Warriors from Edinburgh in the summer but just five minutes after replacing Alafoti Fa’osiliva on his competitive debut he damaged his Adam’s apple and voice box in a collision with Wasps lock Joe Launchbury.

“We all prayed that he would be OK,” Hill said.

“We weren’t really thinking about how long he would be out for as it was about making sure he was back to 100 per cent fitness.

“It is great to see him fit and healthy again.

“He is a great guy to learn off as he has got loads of experience.

“But the main thing is that everyone is really happy to see him back in training and doing well. Hopefully we will see him in action soon.”