Ryan Davis will return to the scene of his Bath debut tomorrow evening – and will feel like he is starting all over again.

It is more than four years since Davis, who had not long turned 19, stepped into the starting line-up at Sale when Olly Barkley was injured – and went on to score a try as Bath lost narrowly.

His Bath career has progressed in fits and starts since, with three major knee injuries restricting the talented fly-half to 31 appearances.

He will return to the side at Edgeley Park tomorrow as Bath play the first of three Guinness Premiership matches in eight days – and is eager to pick up where he left off 17 months ago.

That was the last time Davis made a first-team appearance – and the majority of his time since has been spent overcoming two serious knee operations.

Now he is looking to repay the faith head coach Steve Meehan has shown in him by delivering the goods as Bath look to move back into the Premiership's top four.

"I've got a lot of respect for Steve and he trusts me in a few positions. He has played me at 12 and 13 for the club and eventually gave me a shot at 10," said Davis. "I think I owe him and the coaching staff after the amount of effort and time they have put into me. I want to be fit for them and play 20 or 30 games a season and help this team progress.

"Steve has put faith in me, so I want to give it back to him and make sure I stay fit and play as well as I can. They obviously see something they like in me and you always want to play for someone who wants you to be involved in their team.

"Maybe knowing what Steve thought of me took some of the pressure off me while I was doing my rehab.

" But, in a way, he has put the pressure back on me now by saying: 'You're playing on Friday – go out there and do what you've got to do'."

Before he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament for the second time in his career in October 2007, Davis had looked set to challenge Butch James for the Bath No 10 shirt. But while James has played regularly and become a pivotal member of the Bath side during the past 17 months, Davis has been working hard – often on his own – to return to fitness. He was close last year, but, by his own admission, pushed things too far, too quickly, and re-ruptured the ligament.

"When I re-ruptured it, it was time to sit down with the coaches and physio team and say: 'let's do this slowly'," said the Bristolian.

"This time, in terms of the structure of my rehab plan, everything went spot on. We had to take time with the strength and conditioning staff, the coaches and physios – and everything was done so thoroughly.

"I'm really chuffed that they pulled me through – and now it's time I paid back the love! It's been hard for me, but they have made it easier for me to get through this."

After tomorrow's trip to Greater Manchester, Bath host Wasps on Wednesday and Harlequins three days later.

But while many of their players are heavy-legged after a campaign which has already seen them play 26 matches, Davis is raring to go.

"If Steve wanted me to, I'd play all three games in eight days," said Davis. "I want to be involved in every game now. I know there are only six games left – with the possibility of a few more if we progress – but if I can get a few of those, I will be happy. I'm a bit anxious, because I want to come back on a higher note than I was at before.

"It might not be for the first couple of games, but come the end of the season or the beginning of next season, I'll be on fire, hopefully. And by that, I mean mentally as well as physically. I can't wait to get out there."

Sale Sharks: N Macleod; M Cueto, M Tait, L Thomas, O Ripol; C Hodgson, R Wigglesworth; A Sheridan, S Bruno, E Roberts, C Jones, B Cockbain, J White, N Briggs, J-M Fernandez Lobbe. Reps: L Faure, S Turner, S Cox, D Tait, D Peel, R Keil, S Kuadey.