DAVE Denton is raring to hit his straps for Bath again following his return to action last weekend after a lengthy injury absence.

Scotland international back-rower Denton was unable to help Bath avoid a 16-15 defeat at Newcastle Falcons in the Anglo-Welsh Cup on Saturday, with the match just the 27-year-old’s second appearance of the season.

Denton had not played since suffering a hamstring tear on the opening day of the season against Northampton Saints in the first week September.

Saints are next up for Bath as they turn their attentions back to the Aviva Premiership on Friday night and Denton is keen to make an impact as Todd Blackadder’s side look to reinforce their top-four credentials.

“It’s been the longest injury of my career, so it’s been a tough couple of months and I was over the moon to be back out there at the weekend,” said Denton.

“I have been in full rugby training for two weeks. You do one week without playing and then at the end of the second, you play the game at the weekend. Hopefully, it only takes me the one game to get back up to full speed.

“It was nice to have that game in the Anglo-Welsh Cup to blow out the cobwebs because now we have a really important period coming up in the Premiership.

“There’s going to be six or seven sides who are depleted over the next month or so because of the Six Nations and this is the time when the top teams really come to the fore and make sure they keep grinding out those results.

“We started the season unbelievably well with that first win at Northampton in a long time and the boys have kept the ball rolling. It’s a lot easier to be out injured when the team is doing well than it is when it’s not.”

Denton’s Scotland international team-mates began their Six Nations challenge with an impressive win at home to Ireland last weekend, and the former Edinburgh man’s return to fitness could allow him to add to his 34 caps at the back-end of the tournament.

However, Denton says any possible comeback for Vern Cotter’s side is on the back-burners for now.

“That win was fantastic. It’s a great group of players and I think there’s a real feeling that they want to do something special for Vern in his last year,” said Denton.

“The coaches were down here a few weeks ago, so it’s nice to know that I am still on their radar but I can’t think about anything like that. I can only focus on what I can control and that’s trying to play as well as I can for Bath.

"It’s a win-win situation for me. Either I stay here and help my club try to win games and climb the table, or I get the opportunity to go and play for my country.”