Bristol Bears lose Staddon to ACL injury before competitive debut, Ravouvou also sidelined

Ethan Staddon will miss the majority of the Bristol Bears’ Gallagher Premiership season after sustaining an ACL injury — and potentially an MCL injury — before making a single competitive appearance for the club, head coach Pat Lam confirmed at his weekly media briefing.

The flanker joined Bristol this summer from West Country rivals Bath, where his contract had expired, and was regarded as the club’s headline summer acquisition. He had been pushing for a starting place before the injury halted his progress.

“Ethan Staddon has injured his knee. I think he arrived with a little bit of a niggle, and he’s had some surgery as well. So it’s his ACL and maybe MCL as well,” Lam said. “It’s very sad for him because he was training really well and really pushing to be in that starting group. He was showing everything that was the reason we brought him over here.”

Staddon joins full-back Noah Heward on the treatment table, with both players having undergone knee surgery. Despite the setback, Lam expressed confidence in the flanker’s resolve. “He’s determined to bounce back, be stronger and better when he gets back,” the coach added.

The injury news did not stop there for Bristol. Lam also confirmed that Fijian back Kalaveti Ravouvou faces approximately 12 weeks on the sidelines — a longer absence than initially anticipated — after damaging his knee during Fiji’s Pacific Nations Cup semi-final victory over Canada earlier this month.

“He did his knee. He’ll probably be out for 12 weeks, so he comes back in probably after November,” Lam said, noting that Ravouvou had already been away on international duty for around 15 weeks across the Nations Championship, the World XV, and the Pacific Nations Cup.

The double blow leaves Bristol short of experienced options in the back row and backline as they prepare for their Premiership campaign against Sale Sharks, with Lam now managing a growing injury list at the start of the season.