Bath Rugby have been dealt a significant blow ahead of the new Gallagher Premiership season, with loosehead prop Jamie Bhatti ruled out of Friday night’s league opener against Harlequins due to a broken arm.
Bhatti, a 33-year-old Scottish international, was a summer signing who rejoined Bath after previously playing for the club during the 2020/21 season on loan from Edinburgh. He made his first appearance of the year in Friday night’s commanding 53-5 pre-season friendly win over Glasgow Warriors, but unfortunately sustained the injury just ten minutes after coming on as a replacement for Beno Obano.
Obano himself had recently returned from a hamstring injury sustained while on England duty during the Nations Championship.
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Sharing his disappointment on social media, Bhatti posted an X-ray image with the caption: “Cracking start to the season”.
Head of Rugby Johann van Graan signed Bhatti to fill the gap left by South African Francois van Wyk, who departed Bath for Connacht Rugby over the summer. With Bhatti sidelined and Thomas du Toit, a versatile front row player capable of playing on both sides of the scrum, also having moved on this summer, the club now faces a shortage in the loosehead prop position.
Van Graan will need to rely heavily on Beno Obano and academy graduate Scott Kirk in the coming weeks. Kirk, a former England Under-20s international, has impressed during pre-season and gained valuable experience in the Premiership Rugby Cup in recent years.
Meanwhile, Bath confirmed the season-long loan of 21-year-old former Wales Under-20s loosehead prop Ioan Immanuel to Cardiff Rugby on Friday. Given the current injury situation, van Graan may consider recalling Immanuel and potentially exploring the transfer market to reinforce the squad, depending on salary cap allowances.