England's Watson back in Bath XV after 13 months out

England full-back Anthony Watson is set to make his long-awaited return for Bath against Sale Sharks in the Premiership on Friday.

Watson suffered a torn Achilles in the 2018 Six Nations, ruling him out for around six months, and then ruptured the tendon again in pre-season following an unsuccessful operation.

Bath director of rugby Todd Blackadder refused to put a date on the 25-year-old's return at the time, describing the second issue as a "start-again injury".

But Watson is now back in the fold and has been named in the Bath XV to face Sale, ending a stretch of over a year on the sidelines.

Team News | @anthonywatson_ returns to the @bathrugby starting line-up to face @SaleSharksRugby tomorrow night at the AJ Bell Stadium. Full team announcement https://t.co/3dSndoEBrr pic.twitter.com/s9ujBeANTE

— Bath Rugby (@bathrugby) April 25, 2019

The return of the 33-cap England star will come as a boost to head coach Eddie Jones ahead of this year's Rugby World Cup in Japan.

Watson signed a new long-term contract with Bath in November last year.