Davis has made 31 appearances for Bath since his debut in December 2004

Bath's Ryan Davis is set to return to action after being on the sidelines with a knee injury since October 2007.

The fly-half, 23, is in contention for fifth-placed Bath's Premiership match at Sale on Friday.

"After watching so much rugby and seeing how the team has progressed, I think it will be good for me to get involved," he told BBC Radio Bristol.

"I'm pretty excited, the team's doing well and that will make it easy for me to slip in."

Davis made six appearances at the start of the 2007 season when Butch James and former team-mate Olly Barkley were away on international duty before injuring his anterior cruciate ligament in an EDF Cup match against Leicester.

He had initially earmarked the start of this campaign for his return, but his eagerness to get back in the fray resulted in a recurrence of the problem.

But despite frustration at being so long out and apprehension over another problem with the joint, he believes the club's good form will aid his reintroduction to the side.

"It helps with transition. With everyone playing well, that takes pressure off me and allows me to focus on my game as well as everybody else's," said Davis.

"There's always aches and pains and that apprehension, but at the end of the day, once you're on that pitch you forget everything and go at it 100% - otherwise you're going to end up hurting yourself.

"It makes you appreciate what rugby's about and being able to play the game, and I can't wait."

Davis, who captained England's Under-21s in the 2005 Six Nations, added he expected the trip to Sale to be "intense" but feels the match could tee up Bath for a strong run-in to the end of the season.

"We have to up our game," he added. "This week could set off the reaction for the following five weeks."

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