“REFRESHED” Worcester Warriors centre Ben Te’o is expected to return to training next week following his extended break.

The England ace has been resting up after helping the British and Irish Lions share a thrilling series with New Zealand early last month.

His Warriors teammates, meanwhile, have been working hard on the training field since pre-season got underway in June with many appearing in the Aviva Premiership side’s 55-21 victory over Hartpury last Saturday.

But head coach Carl Hogg believes the extra time away will help Te’o in the long run as Warriors prepare to open their league campaign on Friday, September 1 with a visit to Newcastle Falcons.

The 30-year-old could also feature in Worcester’s final pre-season clash against Munster at Sixways on Thursday, August 24 (7.30pm).

“Ben will be coming back for that Munster week, so he will be fit and available to us,” Hogg said.

“I am sure he will be refreshed after a good break from his tour down in New Zealand.”

Te’o scored four tries in 12 appearances for Warriors last season and played a key role in England’s Six Nations success earlier this year.

“A season is over nine months, so players have got to be fit,” Hogg continued.

“But they have also got to be mentally rested as well and I think that’s been a facet of pre-season that we have looked to build on.”

With Te’o away wing Bryce Heem made a rare appearance at outside centre in the second half against Hartpury.

Hooker Joe Taufete’s also played at loosehead prop for the final 40 minutes. But Hogg insisted Warriors’ selection was down to “one or two injuries and unavailability”.

“Ben is still away after his excellent work with the Lions and Ethan Waller had a small dink in training so we pulled Joe in at loosehead,” Hogg added.

“That’s not something we are looking at long-term, but it shows the flexibility of both players.”