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Sinbad on the comeback trail

Wednesday 02nd July 2008

Ready for more: James Simpson-Daniel

Gloucester wing James Simpson-Daniel is ready to return to international rugby after being named in England's 32-man elite squad.

Simpson-Daniel missed England's ill-fated tour to New Zealand as he was recovering from surgery on a shoulder injury but has said he is hoping to re-launch his international career and add to his ten caps for England.

"Martin Johnson's been great, he's been in touch with me before and after the operation," the 26-year-old, who was the Premiership's Player of the Year last season told the BBC.

"I'm looking forward to getting fit and getting on with things.

"It's best not to think about it a huge amount even though I would have been disappointed if I wasn't in the squad, I'm always disappointed when there's a squad and I'm not in it.

"I played a fair few matches last year, I'm confident that once I can get back from the shoulder injury I can do the same again this year

"I hadn't tried to get my hopes up too much because I've found in the past when I've got my hopes up generally it's bad news.

"The thing about this summer's injury was that I'd known for a while that I was going to need to get fixed.

"It's not like I've gone on a tour and picked it up while I've been out there, it's something that's been on-going, a little bit of wear and tear and we've got it fixed now.

"I played a fair few matches last year, I'm confident that once I can get back from the shoulder injury I can do the same again this year."