I challenged myself to come back better - Lawrence

Ollie Lawrence is back for Bath in time for the new season of The Prem

It was not long after Ollie Lawrence was taken off the field on the back of a medical car with a ruptured Achilles that he was thinking about how to get back on the pitch.

With his head in his hands just eight minutes into England's Six Nations victory over Italy, Lawrence was robbed not only of any further involvement for Bath as they lifted a first league title in 27 years but also the chance to tour Australia with the British and Irish Lions.

"There was a lot of emotions that ran through me at the time but after that I went back in the changing room and tried to compartmentalise everything that had just happened, and I then headed forward and was like, 'what's the next step here?'," Lawrence told BBC Sport.

Despite some predicting a "long road" ahead, six months since the injury, Lawrence is back and ready for the new season of The Prem with Bath.

"There's probably a part of the physios that were like he's a bit over-confident of when I was actually going to be back," he added.

"But I just tried to do everything I could to make sure I was in a good position that I could start training and build towards the start of the season. In my head it was a no-brainer."

Centre Lawrence was a ubiquitous presence for club and country for almost two years at the time of the injury.

He had started every one of his 44 games for Bath after signing for the club in 2022 - being substituted for just 32 minutes. For England, he had started all but one of their past 17 matches.

When it happened back in March, he knew it was serious.

"I stepped off to sprint and felt a slinging sensation," Lawrence said.

"I thought Elliot [Daly] was behind me and stood on the back of my heel and he was nowhere to be seen and at that point I thought, 'well, this isn't great'."

Lawrence was a constant presence for Bath and England prior to the injury

The 26-year-old was one of the stars of a Bath team that was storming towards Prem glory - eventually winning a treble, while he was also hotly tipped for Andy Farrell's Lions squad.

"The first week was tough, everything hit me," he said.

"Everything I'd dreamt of doing this summer was taken away from me, [I] didn't even have the opportunity to put my hand up which was frustrating.

"Quickly I turned to the fact that I could look at this injury as one of two ways. I could sulk about it and feel sorry for myself or I could crack on and try and make myself a better player.

"I challenged myself with the whole thing to make sure I came back a better player than I was before. Hopefully I'm in a position to do that now."

'The small one percenters'

Lawrence had an operation eight days after the injury and spent the next two weeks in a cast unable to do most of the things he could normally do day to day.

He then transferred to a boot which restricted the flexion on his ankle and gradually moved to walking with trainers, fit with a specific raised insole, to support his Achilles.

He also explored other techniques to try and aid his recovery, including getting an hyperbaric oxygen chamber and red light therapy kits delivered to his home, which he documented on social media.

He used the chamber for an hour and a half, twice a day, for four months passing the time lying inside watching TV series on his iPad.

"It was all little tools, small one percenters that would add up to hopefully get me back on the field in a quicker period of time. It seemed to do the trick," Lawrence said.

"I don't know if was solely down to that or the medical team here or just genetics with myself, but all of it mixed together was the perfect combination."

He sought advice from former England and Bath back and friend Anthony Watson, who ruptured his Achilles tendon twice in 2018.

"He was always there for me and chatting about things I was going through," Lawrence added.

"He checked me when I needed to be checked but also was really positive when he saw things and when I showed him stuff about how the recovery journey was going."

Ollie Lawrence has already returned to England's training squad

Lawrence played his first minutes of rugby in pre-season friendlies against Munster and former club Worcester and also went straight back into the England set-up for a three-day training camp to prepare for November's Autumn Internationals.

Bath begin the new Prem campaign away at Harlequins on Friday (19:45 BST) and Lawrence is fit for selection, although his club have stressed fans should not expect to see him playing 80 minutes week in, week out yet.

Lawrence has now twice experienced what can happen when rugby is unexpectedly taken away - he only signed for Bath due to his former club Worcester folding in 2022.

"I've gone through similar struggles in life before, if you look to the situation with Worcester when that all unfolded and you having to bounce back and crack on - it was a similar situation with this," he said.

"Everything that's happened over the last year will have only helped me mentally and it's only made me more grateful for what I do for a living and how quickly something can be taken away from you."