Dowson delivers Saints injury latest ahead of cup quarter-final against Ealing

However, the good news is that the full-back has been able to take part in some non-contact training in recent weeks.

Furbank suffered a broken arm during Saints' superb Investec Champions Cup win against Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria back in December.

But he is now on the recovery trail and has previously said he hopes to return to action in March.

When asked for an update on Furbank at Tuesday's media session, Saints boss Dowson said: "He's good.

"He's back into training but he's non-contact so he's still a little bit away.

"But he's certainly back on the pitch, which is a relief for him."

Locks Chunya Munga and Callum Hunter-Hill have also been on the Saints injury list in recent weeks.

And Dowson said: "Cal's still recovering from his calf injury and Chunya hasn't managed to get a huge amount of running through his hamstring as yet so we're still waiting on those two but we're hopeful that they're beginning to move around a bit better now."

Robbie Smith, Sam Graham and Archie McParland are all set to miss the rest of the season with long-term injuries.

However, Burger Odendaal was seen warming up with his Saints team-mates before the Premiership Rugby Cup win at Nottingham earlier this month.

And he is now very close to a return to action for the first time since suffering a knee injury during last season's Gallagher Premiership final win against Bath.

"It's fantastic," Dowson said.

"I can't speak highly enough of Burger. I would happily go on the record and say his determination, discipline, perseverance, application throughout the recovery period has been exemplary.

"You talk to the S&C (strength and conditioning), you talk to the medics, you see how he's done it, he's never got down about it and he's pushed and pushed and pushed.

"He's come back as quickly as he possibly could from a really tough injury and I'm excited about him coming back into games and showing what he's capable of.

"And I think he's excited about that as well."

Saints have plenty of selection decisions to make ahead of Saturday's Premiership Rugby Cup quarter-final against Ealing Trailfinders at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens.

But they are set to name a stronger squad than the last time they faced the Trailfinders, which was a cup pool stage meeting in September 2023.

"It's definitely a different scenario this week," Dowson said.

"We picked that team last year based on a pre-season and getting people ready for games.

"It was a young group and a lot of those players who played in that match learned lessons about how we start games and how physical we have to be at the top level. They're now benefitting from that and will play this weekend so it will be interesting to see how far they've come in just over a year.

"It's a different kettle of fish because it's a quarter-final, it's a different kettle of fish because it's middle of the season and because we're hoping to see a really strong performance."