Lam: We are searching everywhere for players

BRISTOL Bears boss Pat Lam has admitted that the club are being forced to recruit additional players to deal with an injury crisis that has now claimed Louis Rees-Zammit.

- DUNCAN BECH

The winger suffered a toe injury as he joined Joe Jenkins (hamstring) and Tom Jordan (ribs) in being unable to finish Saturday's 50-17 Gallagher Prem mauling by Saracens at the StoneX Stadium.

Lam hopes both Rees-Zammit and Jordan will be short-term absentees only, but fears Jenkins is looking at a longer spell on the sidelines.

It continues an ill-starred start to the season for Bristol, who on the opening weekend lost key backs AJ MacGinty, Harry Randall and Gabriel Ibitoye to injuries that have resulted in surgery.

"The recruitment team will be looking around for some extra players and we've been doing that in the background," Lam said. "But it’s finding the right players, people are in contract, so that’s always a tricky one at this time of the year, but we are searching everywhere.

"There are players who are dead keen, but then getting released is the other side of it, so that’s the challenge our recruitment team has to work through."