Lewis Moody keen to prove himself ready for England's first Test

Lewis Moody will have only one club game to prove his fitness before England's first autumn Test, against New Zealand at Twickenham on 6 November. Bath said today the forward will not feature against Leicester this weekend despite the forward's belief he is ready to face his old club at Welford Road. Moody, England's incumbent captain following the summer tour to Australia, suffered a nasty injury to his right eye against Gloucester almost three weeks ago and was originally ruled out for a month. While the flanker has made a swifter-than-expected recovery, Bath are adamant they will not rush him back prematurely. "He's not available this weekend but hopefully it won't be too much longer before we see him back in action," said Martin Haag, Bath's forwards coach. "He's trained well this week but with an injury like that you can't afford to come in half-baked. We have to make sure he's spot on before he comes back." Moody had earlier been rather more upbeat about his prospects, stressing he would be "very frustrated" to miss out on a return to the club where he played for 14 seasons. "I have been amazed at the speed of the recovery," he said. "At the time I was probably a bit nervous, particularly after the game. "I had virtually no vision out of that eye but thankfully I woke up the next day and that had all changed. I am being cautious but I am still hopeful I will be fit for the internationals and autumn series. Touch wood, that's the case and everything keeps going in the manner that it has been." For Moody to be considered for a starting role against the All Blacks, however, Martin Johnson will probably require him to prove his match fitness at Harlequins on Sunday week, only six days prior to the New Zealand game. Bath already expect him to feature at the Stoop. "If you'd asked him two weeks ago he'd have said he was ready to play but, ultimately, it's about what's best for the team and him," said Haag. "He had a severe eye injury and you need to make sure that's right."