MARK WILSON has given Newcastle Falcons a timely boost ahead of Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership visit of Gloucester, with the club captain insisting he is fit and ready for action.

This weekend's game at Kingston Park could see Wilson making his first appearance of the season, with the Rugby World Cup finalist fully recovered from an off-season operation on his knee.

“The main issue has been my existing knee injury, and I had an operation in the summer to take some meniscus out,” said Wilson, who has scored 42 tries in his 236 games for the Falcons.

“My rehab has been good, I was on course for my comeback date against Sale Sharks on Boxing Day and it was just bad luck more than anything else which has delayed things from there. A couple of niggly Covid issues, cancelled games and a head knock in training have set me back a few weeks, but I’m ready to go now and just hoping I can earn selection.”

Hoping to run out against the fourth-placed Cherry and Whites, the Cumbrian forward said: “Gloucester have had a real resurgence from last year.

“They’ve got a strong set-piece and some threatening players on the ball, so we know we’ll have our work cut out. We’re back at home, though, and we’re really excited to have the opportunity to perform in front of our own supporters again.

“It’s been a pretty disrupted few weeks in terms of games and training being cancelled, boys missing training due to isolation, last-minute decisions around going to France and all the rest of it, but we’re hoping to put that behind us now.

“I’m sure the lads will be dead excited about playing against Gloucester at home, just as I am, and that we can give our supporters a truer representation of what we’re about following a couple of disappointing defeats in the league.”

Delighted at the prospect to be finally playing without crowd restrictions, Wilson said: “I was involved in the two games at the back end of last season where we were allowed a limited number of fans against Northampton and Worcester, and it made a massive difference.

“The novelty of playing in front of empty stadiums lasted for about two seconds – it was just awful – and the atmosphere that even 1,500 could make in that Northampton game was absolutely unbelievable.

“I remember when Chidera Obonna scored the winner in front of the South Stand, and the fans who had come along just went crazy. It was just a reminder of why you get involved in sport, and what it means to people.

“I’m just excited to get out there again if I’m involved against Gloucester on Saturday, and the fans make such a difference. They bring a whole different level of excitement to the players, and having lost our last home game there’s obviously a massive desire within the group to show our supporters what we’re really about as a team.”

In the week that Falcons hooker Jamie Blamire joins up with England for their Six Nations training camp, the past year has also seen call-ups for club-mates Adam Radwan, Sean Robinson, Trevor Davison and Callum Chick.

“I’m delighted to see so many Falcons boys in and around that England picture, with Sean called up to the training squad before getting injured, and then the other four lads getting capped,” said Wilson, who has represented his country 23 times.

“It’s great for the club and is a real endorsement of what we’re doing, and those lads will have all benefited from the experience of being involved with England.

"International rugby is a real learning curve, and as much as I am always open and willing to pass on my experiences, I think a lot of it is just about finding out for yourself."