Christian Wade: Wasps wing hoping for early comeback

Christian Wade made his England debut on the tour to Argentina in June 2013

Injured Wasps wing Christian Wade is optimistic that he can return to action on or possibly ahead of schedule.

The 24-year-old, capped seven times by England, is currently sidelined by a foot injury picked up in November, and was told at the time he would be out for between two and three months.

"It's too early to set a date. We're going with what the surgeon's said," he told BBC Coventry and Warwickshire.

"But you never know, it depends on how the rehab goes - it's going very well."

Wade was hurt in Wasps' shock 32-6 win at defending champions Toulon in their European Champions Cup pool match at the end of last month.

And he admits not being part of their impressive run in the tournament - which has seen them win three of their four pool games so far - has been difficult.

"It's really frustrating. We started off well with two big wins and we've got two games to go (at Toulon and home to Leinster) and they're two really big games I would've love to be a part of," he said.

"It looks as though I'm going to miss them but I can't wait to get back and be ready for the quarter-finals.

"It's just over a month now (since getting injured) so hopefully I'll be back playing again in January or February so we'll have to wait and see."

New home sweet home

Wasps will mark the one-year anniversary of their very first game at their new matchday base at the Ricoh Arena on 21 December.

A crowd of over 28,000 - a record attendance for a domestic Premiership game - watched them beat London Irish twelve months previously, before they extending that mark when 32,000 turned up for the visit of Leicester last May.

With the move from the previous home in High Wycombe already benefitting the club off the field, playing in front of such large passionate crowds is a big motivation for Wade.

"It felt like home straight after that first game and we've had a few sell-out games which have been awesome," he said. "Because it's an arena the bowl increases the noise and it amplifies the sound even more. The boys love playing here. The atmosphere is amazing. Hopefully we can keep giving good performances."

Wasps have several revenue streams as Ricoh Arena owners, including tenants Coventry City