Wilson made his full England debut against Argentina in June

Bath head coach Steve Meehan says the injury to David Wilson in the season-opener against Gloucester has contributed to their poor start.

"I feel that the loss of him in the first match has been an important factor and a negative for us," Meehan told BBC Radio Bristol.

The 24-year-old England prop returned to the side on Sunday, coming off the bench in the defeat to Stade Francais.

Bath face Wilson's former side Newcastle Falcons at home on Saturday.

He's a great young bloke to work with and he's got a great future in the game there's no doubt. Steve Meehan

"You can suggest he'll spend more time on the field this week, added Meehan.

"He probably won't start the game as I was pretty happy with the pack that started against Stade and the job they did.

"But he's a great young bloke to work with and he's got a great future in the game there's no doubt.

"Hopefully we can get some good work out of him this weekend before he disappears with the England side."

Bath will look to record their first home win of the season against Newcastle and fellow prop Duncan Bell says Wilson has been able to provide some valuable insight into his former teammates.

"He ran the scrum video session and gave a little inside information about their players in the front five," said Bell.

"So it's good to have maybe a little spy in the camp and gives us that little advantage in that we know a bit more about them than they do about us."

Bath currently lie eighth in the Premiership with just one win and a draw from the opening five games.

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