Leicester Tigers head coach Richard Cockerill has backed injured scrum-half Harry Ellis to return to his very best.

The 27-year-old has spent the past five weeks out of the game receiving treatment to the same left knee which required major surgery back in May 2007 and kept him out of the game for a year.

Ellis admitted last week that the nature of the injury was something he would have to keep on top of for the "rest of his career".

But Cockerill says that will not stop the British & Irish Lion returning to the sort of form that has earned him 27 caps for England when his current spell of rehab has come to a satisfactory end.

"We don't want to rush Harry back too soon," said Cockerill. "It might be seven or 14 days before he is back playing for us.

"We need to get that right because we can't force him back too early, for the player's welfare.

"He has had serious surgery on that knee. Once you start getting into joints and taking things out they are never the same again, and you have to monitor that.

"But Harry will be back to full fitness soon and I am confident that he will be back to the Harry Ellis we all know."

Tigers continue their Guinness Premiership campaign on Saturday evening with the visit of Northampton Saints to what looks like being a sold-out Welford Road.

The visitors are one place and three points ahead of fifth-placed Tigers, who lost 18-12 at London Irish on Saturday.

Cockerill is happy with his team's position, though, after an opening six games of the league campaign which has seen his squad severely hampered by injuries.

With the likes of Toby Flood, Sam Vesty and Alesana Tuilagi likely to be fit and well when the Guinness Premiership returns after a two-week break for the Anglo-Welsh Cup, victory on Saturday would leave Leicester in very good nick.

"I am happy with where we are at, especially with the issues we have injury-wise," said Cockerill, right.

"We didn't play well against Irish but it could be a very useful bonus point come the end of the season.

"We showed great spirit and great defence against a side that score tries for fun. They didn't look like breaking us down and vice-versa.

"Gloucester went to Irish and had 40 points put on them the other week, and other teams will go there and get beaten.

"We have some very good players back in the mix over the next month or so and, because of that, we will get better.

"We are not playing particularly well, but we are hard to play against. We work very hard and we are dogged."

Tigers prop Dan Cole made his return after a foot injury on loan at Nottingham yesterday.

The Green and Whites beat fellow promotion-chasers Bedford 30-29 in a thriller at Meadow Lane.

Leicester Tigers Development XV suffered a first defeat of the season when they crashed 46-28 at Worcester on Monday.

However, Tigers remain top of the Premier Rugby A League northern conference.