Short made 29 appearances for Bath last season

Bath lock Peter Short is set to play his first game of the season after being named on the bench for Friday's LV= Cup game against Cardiff.

The 31-year-old has been out for almost five months with a knee injury that has required three operations to cure.

"I'm very excited and it's been the longest I've been out injured," the 31-year-old told BBC Points West.

"I want to get back to my best and be as dynamic and destructive as possible in the second row."

Short, who played for England Saxons in 2009, played 20 minutes as a substitute in Bath's reserve team game against Gloucester at the start of the week.

"I'm looking forward to getting a bit more game time under my belt and be ready and available for the first team should I be needed," he said.

"In some camps this competition can be a bit downtrodden, but for the guys pulling on the shirt it's really important and we want to put our best foot forward and put on a good display.

"Cardiff are a good side and have beaten us in the last two outings in this cup. They always throw everything into it and we need to be ready for that.

"We need to match that and put our intensity on them from the start of the game, rather than the other way round, to make sure that we're in control of the match rather than them. We expect a tough challenge.

"There's always a bit of bite, maybe less so these days, but we enjoy that and I'm sure they do too. It's a bit different for the spectators and for us as well to come up against teams we don't always play."

Short last featured for the Bath first team in the Premiership play-off semi-final defeat by Leicester, and his last start was also against the Tigers at Welford Road at the beginning of April.

"I normally beat projected times back, but with the nature of the injury it was tough to get on top of the swelling in the knee after they drilled bits of bone out," said Short.

It's great now that we can have a bit of rotation in the second row and keep guys as fresh as possible Bath assistant coach Brad Davis

"So being out longer than normal has been the most frustrating thing for me, and trying to get the physios to let me push on. They keep you wrapped in cotton wool but I keep trying to get them to let me do a bit more."

Bath assistant coach Brad Davis added: "It's great to have him back. He played in Monday's United fixture, which gave him a taster, and he gives us options.

"The likes of Danny Grewcock and Stuart Hooper have put a massive stint in over the first eight games and it's great now that we can have a bit of rotation in that area and keep guys as fresh as possible."

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