Dallaglio to return after eight months

Lawrence Dallaglio is ready to return to Zurich Premiership action after eight months out of the game with a knee injury.

Dallaglio will be on the bench for London Wasps at Newcastle on Sunday and will come on during the second half.

"He will get on all right," said director of rugby Nigel Melville. "He looks good in training and he needs to play.

There is no other way for him than to get out on the pitch.

"He has been doing lots of contact work - far more than he would expect in a match - and has worked so hard."

If all goes well at Newcastle, Dallaglio will be hoping to play a full game for Wasps against Bristol at Loftus Road on 10 February.

After that, England will be in a stronger position to decide whether their former captain - and a probable influential figure in next year's World Cup - is ready to return to the back row for the key game in the Lloyds TSB Six Nations' Championship against France in Paris on 2 March.

"The idea of Lawrence and England is going through all our minds," said Melville. "If he is hunky dory from day one England will have to consider him sooner rather than later. The main concern is to get him back playing again."