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Rugby Union

Vickery 'fit for Guinness Premiership final'

30/05/2008

Wasps prop Phil Vickery has claimed he is fully fit and raring to go ahead of Saturday's Guinness Premiership final against Leicester Tigers.

The England international has been rated as doubtful in the run-up to the match at Twickenham because of a knee injury he picked up last month that had threatened to end his season.

"I've trained fully this week and I'm down on the team sheet to play," Vickery told the BBC.

"All being well I'm looking forward to walking out the tunnel at Twickenham."

Vickery's return is a welcome boost for Wasps, who have seen their first-choice XV severely depleted over the last fortnight.

Star fly-half Danny Cipriani, who won the Guinness Premiership discovery of the year award earlier this week, is out for six months after suffering a fractured dislocation of his ankle in the semi-final against Bath.

And wing Tom Voyce, who was the league's top try-scorer this season, is also out after having surgery on a dislocated shoulder he suffered in the same match.

Vickery will form one of the pillars of an impressive Wasps pack, which also includes Lawrence Dallaglio - in his final game before retirement – alongside fellow England players Simon Shaw, Tom Rees and James Haskell.

Experienced front-row Vickery had also been a doubt for the international tour of New Zealand this summer, although if he is able to play in the Guinness Premiership showpiece he is likely to make the plane for the two-Test trip to face the All Blacks.