Vickery missed England's summer tour because of injury

The England prop underwent the surgeon's knife to treat the complaint in the summer.

And on Monday he played for 40 minutes in Gloucester A's tense 43-42 defeat to their Wasps counterparts.

Vickery's ex-Gloucester team-mate Trevor Woodman is also fit to return to action after injuring his back in the first game of the season.

"I've never worked harder than in the last six months, but I've got to get my head down again and keep going," Vickery told the club's website on his return.

"After recovering from the operation in May, I've spent the last four to five months training and in rehab. A lot of people have put a lot of effort into it, especially my girlfriend Kate, her family and everyone at Gloucester Rugby Club.

"I'll now sit down and chat with the medical guys and [coaches] Nigel [Melville] and Dean [Ryan], and we'll see how it goes."

Woodman, meanwhile, made his debut for new side Sale in the opening match of the current campaign against Leicester but has not been able to play since.

He has been cleared for Friday's game against London Irish and said: "It's been frustrating watching the team play from the sidelines and I am really looking forward to playing again this week."