Burns' first game back at Leicester curtailed by injury in Jersey

Freddie Burns’ first match back at Leicester was cut short on Friday evening, the ex-England out-half lasting just 30 minutes of the 17-7 pre-season win away to Championship side Jersey. 

The 31-year-old announced in March that he was ending his Japanese adventure after a single season with the Shuttles and would be joining the Steve Borthwick rejuvenation of Leicester for the coming 2021/22 campaign.

That began in the Channel Islands on Friday with a pre-season match following a week-long camp in Jersey but Burns, who previously played for Leicester from 2014 until his 2017 move to Bath, unfortunately hobbled off injured.

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Burns was initially seen receiving treatment for a leg problem after he had taken a conversion and while he stayed on the pitch to see could he shake the issue off, he eventually called it quits on 30 minutes and was replaced by fellow new signing Dan Lancaster, the son of ex-England boss Stuart.  

There was no indication as to the severity of the knock sustained in a match where Leicester scored tries through Guy Porter, Hosea Saumaki and Jacob Cusick in a win that featured nine summer signings in the Tigers 24-strong matchday squad that also included academy graduates Cusick, Joe Browning and Archie Vanes. Forwards Ollie Chessum and Will Hurd joined Burns in leaving the fray early as they also sustained knocks. 

“I sat in endless meetings where the talk was about wanting homegrown talent, people from Bath – yet I didn’t get given an opportunity”
– @FreddieBurns tells @heagneyl how it fizzled out for him at @bathrugby and why @shokki is an adventure he craves ???https://t.co/c3Iqqo3so2

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 6, 2020

Burns told Leicester Tigers TV earlier in the week: “There is a real purpose to what we are doing. We are getting better bit by bit and it’s just exciting to get on the pitch on Friday night with the boys and put it into practice.”

After confirming his recruitment of Burns five months ago, Borthwick had said: “I have been impressed with the way Freddie has spoken about wanting to be a part of what we are building at Tigers and his determination to be a leader in our squad.”

There has been plenty of reaction online to Leicester's decision to make Ellis Genge their new captain, including some tweets from a recent old teammatehttps://t.co/FJ96FQ4lez

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 28, 2021