Dowson delivers Saints injury update ahead of Leicester Tigers tussle

Elliot Millar Mills and debutant Cleopas Kundiona were both forced off during last Sunday’s thrilling 37-35 win at Gloucester, meaning the game had to go to uncontested scrums as Saints had no tighthead.

At Wednesday’s media session ahead of the Tigers clash, Dowson was asked about Millar Mills and Kundiona by this publication.

And the Saints boss said: “They’re both injured.

"We’re waiting to see how bad Elliot Millar Mills’ calves are but he’s very doubtful for the weekend.

"Cleopas has hurt his knee and we’re waiting for a surgeon’s opinions on those scans.

"Cleopas has been excellent throughout pre-season and we’ve not only been impressed with his physical ability and set-piece ability but actually his rugby ability.

"He actually hurt his knee quite badly but he still got back in the line, still made a try-saving tackle so he’s got some moral fibre in there that we really like.

"He’s a good character so we’re hoping that (injury lay-off) is not as long as we fear and we’re hoping he will be back soon because he’s had a huge impact.”

Fraser Dingwall and James Ramm were both ruled out of last weekend’s game at Kingsholm.

The duo were added to the dreaded ‘not considered for selection’ list.

"They’ve both had soft tissue issues that we’re just trying to manage to make sure they’re not recurring injuries.”

Some good news comes in the form of two forwards as Trevor Davison and Josh Kemeny are now back in training.

Davison suffered concussion against Exeter Chiefs in the Gallagher PREM season opener, while Kemeny has yet to feature during pre-season or in the competitive action.

"Trevor Davison has got through his return-to-play (protocol) so it’s great to have him back,” Dowson said.

"Josh Kemeny, after a bit of a lay-off post last season, is available so getting these guys back in drives some energy, brings some quality, all those sorts of things.

"It brings some competition and gives us some very good headaches.”

Saints are able to welcome their British & Irish Lions quartet back this week, with Henry Pollock, Alex Mitchell, Fin Smith and Tommy Freeman having completed their mandatory rest period.

"It really drives the level and we talk all the time about performances being a reflection of our training – and our training level is dictated by the level of players who aren’t playing,” Dowson said.

"Last week, we had four British & Irish Lions running around in our non-playing group and that really drove the level of our playing group.

"This week is the same in terms of the guys who aren’t selected have to drive the level of how we perform.

"Having really good quality characters is essential really.

"All the lads are looking forward to getting back playing. They see how hard we work as a group on game day and they want to be part of that.

"They’re all competitors, they all love the game, they all love playing and they’re itching to get back playing. It’s fantastic that the first opportunity to do that is a derby day, it's going to be a sell-out here and it’s a big part of the season so we’re excited about that.”

Saints club captain George Furbank remains sidelined with a calf injury.

Dowson said: “George had a horrible year last year, a shocking season for injuries, and he obviously picked something up a couple of weeks ago from a soft tissue point of view.

"We just want to make sure we’re really slow-walking it to make sure he doesn’t have any other setbacks.

"It’s almost a day by day thing to see how he’s feeling but he’s been moving around today so we’re going to build him back in slowly over the next couple of weeks and see where we end up.”

Scrum-half Tom James has recently been sidelined with an ankle problem.

And on BBC Radio Northampton’s Saints Show on Wednesday night, James gave an update on his injury issue.

James said: “I’ve got a bit of an ankle situation going on.

"I’ve taken a small piece of bone off my talus, which is the middle of the ankle, so it’s been causing a few issues but I’ll be back soon hopefully.

"It’s nearly there.”