Gloucester currently have three players in Australia on the England tour, three in America with the England Saxons, three in Argentina with the England U20s and four, also in Argentina, with Scotland.
The close season has always been a window of opportunity for the medical staff to schedule any minor procedures that need to be done with a view to getting the relevant players back in time for preseason training and this year has been no different according to Bob.
"Although we played our final game on May 8th and it's technically been a month off for the playing department, in reality, we've always had someone available for any of the players should they need to see anyone."
"It means we've had to schedule any time off quite carefully but at least one of myself, Adam (Brett) or Paul (Tanner) has always been around."
"The workload hasn't been too heavy to be fair. We finished the season in relatively good shape but there have been a couple of the players who've needed some attention."
"With Olly Morgan not involved on any tours, we've taken the opportunity to perform a relatively minor procedure on his left shoulder to rectify a longstanding issue."
"Morgs has rehabilitated really well in the early stages and will gradually progress back into full training with a view to being fully fit for the preseason games."
"Davey Lewis was struggling a bit with his back towards the end of the last season and had an operation to rectify a disc lesion in his lower back that did not respond to conservative management."
"He too has made an excellent recovery in the early stages and will again progress through the various stages of rehabilitation with a view to being fit at the same time as Olly."
With the first group of players reporting back in a week's time, Bob anticipates a busier time in the physio room.
"It's always the same and there's not an awful lot you can do about it. Although the players all have their own off season programmes to follow, there are always a few aches and pains to deal with as they return to full time training."
"One positive is that the squad are returning in several stages so it's not a case of everyone turning up at once."
"We're crossing our fingers that the guys who are away on international duty report back in good nick. We obviously work closely with the international medical teams so we're up to speed with the condition of our players but it's always good to get them back under our watchful eye!"
