Head of Rugby Johann van Graan has confirmed Finn Russell has sustained a serious groin injury, but the fly-half could return to action soon.

Russell has been a crucial cog in the Bath backline this season, however this injury set-back will see the Scotland captain miss a large chunk of the run-in.

Speaking to the media today, van Graan said: “The injury is significant, it’s not a thing that he’ll quickly run off in five or six days. Rory (Murray, Bath’s head of medical) is world class at what he does and we’re going to leave no stone unturned to get him back onto the pitch as soon as we can.”

He added: “He’s back in the building, and he’s going to take it day by day. Hopefully we can get him back on the pitch soon.”

At this current time, there is no exact return date for Russell, but in a piece of good news for Bath fans, van Graan confirmed it is not likely to fully end the fly-half’s season.

“If you look at the press release; I’m just going to use an example, Sam Harris injured himself on Friday morning in training and that is season ending; so if any of our players have a season ending injury, we’ll report that.

He added: “The most important thing here is that we can’t lose out of the equation, we’re also talking about a person here. We and Finn are aligned, he wants to get back as quickly as possible.”

Russell picked up the injury in Bath’s 21-15 Champions Cup defeat to West Country rivals Exeter Chiefs.

Johann van Graan on the impact Finn Russell has made this season

Whilst Russell could be out for some time, van Graan feels he has already had a massive impact in his maiden campaign in the West Country.

Russell arrived with a huge reputation following stellar showings for Racing 92, Glasgow Warriors and Scotland, however the fly-half has delivered more than any fan could have dreamed of.

His impact has brought the best out of the backs around him, in particular Ollie Lawrence, and van Graan told the media he ‘can’t speak highly enough’ of the Scotland captain.

“He does everything in life with with a smile, and he didn’t come for himself,” he said. “He’s had a huge impact in our group and I’d say potentially more off the field than on the field.”

Van Graan added: “Finn’s got an incredible attitude, he’s got an incredible belief and I’d say he’s one of very few players that I’ve coached that have got this ability to put the past behind them. I can’t speak highly enough of him really.”

Finn’s X-factor quality brings a certain aura around him, but van Graan insists his star-player is just ‘one of the lads’.

“He’s fitted into the group so so well, he’s one of the lads!” he exclaimed.  “Finn’s just a normal guy that loves the game of rugby.”