Josh Bayliss hopes he can get rediscover his best form and put himself in contention for Scotland’s summer tour after an injury-ravaged season that saw him miss the Rugby World Cup and Six Nations.
The Bath back-row was part of the initial squad named by Gregor Townsend but a concussion suffered in training led to him missing out on the championship.
Bayliss played a dozen minutes off the bench on his return against Harlequins last month, and is a replacement again for Bath when they face Exeter this weekend.
The 26-year-old, who has five Scotland caps, also missed the Rugby World Cup with a thigh injury. That required surgery, ruling Bayliss out of the start of the Premiership season.
Before he thinks about adding to his Scotland cap tally - the most recent of which came against France in a World Cup warm-up match last summer - Bayliss is focusing on a strong end to the season at The Rec.
He said: “It was frustrating to only get a few weeks up there and get injured and miss the rest of it.
“They’re great in terms of communication and keeping me in the loop and it was unfortunate timing.
“I haven’t thought about the summer tour, in my mind it’s a long way off at the moment.
"I need to find some form and to get back playing and try and do everything I can for Bath. We’re in a very exciting position so that’s the number one goal at the moment.
“We’ll take stock at the end of the season and see where I am and hopefully I’ve done enough to get on the plane and we’ll see where we are.”
Earlier this week, Bath confirmed both Finn Russell and Cam Redpath had suffered "significant" injuries.
Neither have been ruled out for the rest of the season but Bayliss admits it’s a big blow to lose them at such a time.
He’s confident Bath have the players in reserve to step up and perform with Orlando Bailey and George Worboys among those who could step up and take their chance now.
He added: “It’s never good to lose two guys like that. They are key members of the team and have been in incredible form.
“They’ll be a massive loss to us but what’s different in this Bath team is we’ve got depth, the next guys in will fill their holes and it’s a really lucky position to be in to have guys like Orlando to come and play well.”
Bayliss conceded it has been a difficult campaign personally, but hopes he can play his part as Bath, currently second in the Premiership, look to cement a play-off place.
He continued: “It has been frustrating on a personal level but I’ve loved watching the guys play, I think they’ve been brilliant.
"I’ve known how much potential is in this squad and to see it come through this year has been incredibly exciting and it’s pushed me on to try and get back fit and get some form to get involved.
“If that means playing in the last couple of games then brilliant but whatever involvement I get I want to try and make a difference.
“You’re very rarely going to get through your whole career without being on the sidelines whether that’s form or injury.
"It’s about maintaining a level head and not getting too high or going too low when things don't go well and not thinking too far down the line, which is easier said than done.
“It’s definitely been a learning curve over the last year or so.”
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