DAVID Denton’s ankle injury is not as “serious” as first feared, according to Worcester Warriors head coach Carl Hogg.

But the Scotland international is expected to miss Warriors’ Aviva Premiership opener at Newcastle Falcons on Friday, September 1.

Denton looked in distress as he punched the ground after suffering the injury in the first minute of Warriors’ 55-21 win over Hartpury.

Hogg said he initially had concerns the 27-year-old who signed for Warriors from Bath this summer would be out for a large chunk of the 2017/18 campaign.

But after seeing a specialist, Hogg revealed he hoped to get Denton back on the field within the next three weeks.

The flanker was also invited to Scotland’s training camp ahead of the Autumn internationals at the weekend despite being injured.

“David has a syndesmosis ankle injury,” Hogg said.

“On the video it looked to be relatively serious, but he has been checked out and seen a specialist, so we are hoping to get him back within the next two or three weeks.”

The Zimbabwean-born forward has made 35 caps for Scotland and represented his country at the 2015 Rugby World Cup after helping Edinburgh reach the European Challenge Cup final that year.

But Denton’s career has also been blighted by injuries as he made just 23 appearances over two seasons at Bath.

“You can see what a good athlete he is, but sometimes you go through a run of injuries and you just need a break,” Hogg said.

“You need to get a run of consistent games and that’s what David is looking for here.

“He has fitted in really well into the environment and the club. Obviously he has had a little bit of a hiccup (with the injury), but hopefully he will be back soon.”

Hogg admitted there were also “really positive signs” for loosehead Ethan Waller (shoulder) and tighthead Nick Schonert (finger) in their efforts to return to action.

Waller and Schonert were withdrawn from Warriors’ squad to face Hartpury after picking up knocks in the lead up to the pre-season opener.

“Ethan should have back fit and available very shortly and we are looking for Nick to come back in the next couple of weeks as well,” Hogg said.

“So there are some really positive signs there.

“Nick injured a tendon in his finger that we had to look at and assess.

“We just needed the swelling to settle down and hopefully Nick can strap that up and he can be available in the next couple of weeks.”

Warriors’ injury list also includes back rowers Marco Mama (knee), Dewald Potgieter (knee) and Carl Kirwan (shoulder), props Simon Kerrod (groin) and Gareth Milasinovich (hamstring), scrum-half Luke Baldwin (bicep), hooker Niall Annett (hamstring), centre Max Stelling (ankle), full-back Chris Pennell (calf) and versatile back Ryan Mills (hip and shoulder).

The Sixways side have yet to confirm why lock Will Spencer, number eight Alafoti Fa’osiliva and scrum-half Michael Dowsett did not feature against Hartpury or in their 24-15 defeat at Birmingham Moseley last Friday.