Duncan Bell accepts he is merely a squad player at Bath these days – but he is relishing a rare opportunity to star over the coming weeks.

The tighthead prop was first choice at the Recreation Ground when he suffered a career-threatening knee injury in October 2006 – and returned last season to find Matt Stevens had established himself in the No 3 shirt.

But with Stevens on England duty this weekend, and likely to be away for the next two weekends, the 34-year-old is set to be handed an extended run in the side.

He will start when Leicester visit the Recreation Ground this lunchtime – and cannot wait to build on his two recent EDF Energy Cup starts.

"People have questioned the relevance of the EDF Cup, but to me it's a great period of the season," said Bell.

"People need rest, because you can't expect someone to play 35 games in a season and play 80 minutes in every game. If you play a lot of games without a break, you end up falling apart, so you have to give people a rest.

"In the EDF games and these games during the internationals, you can play your younger players and squad players – and unfortunately now I am one of those.

"Matt is definitely No 1, but those EDF games gave me the chance to play some rugby and now I'm starting this game, which is a great opportunity for me."

And while Bell has had to come to terms with losing possession of the No 3 shirt – he averaged 28 starts a season during his first three campaigns at the club – he is certainly not bitter about the current pecking order.

"Before I was injured, I was probably No 1. I was playing week in, week out and was in the England set-up," he said.

"But in my 18 months out of the game, Matt Stevens has developed into what we all thought he would become – a world-class player.

"I don't like playing five minutes here, five minutes there, or not playing at all – no player does.

"Everyone wants to be first-choice, but I'm not bitter about it and I'm not banging the coaches' door saying, 'you've got to play me or I'm off'. It's not like that at all. We are a squad here and I am happy with the opportunities that I get.

"This is the first time in my career that I have been a No 2 and it's certainly different. But it's made me even more hungry for the game."

Bell has certainly not lost any of the competitive edge which earned him two England caps in 2005, and is excited by the challenge of facing Leicester today.

The Tigers have named an experienced side which includes Aaron Mauger, Dan Hipkiss, Geordan Murphy, George Chuter, Martin Corry and Lewis Moody – and Bell recognises the significance of today's match for high-flying Bath.

"We've talked about the next three games being critical, not only in terms of the middle part of the season but for the whole of the league," said Bell.

"It's important to win your games while your best players are away, so we have targeted this three-week block.

"We've got to pick up quite a few points, so the next three games – particularly this one – are critical.

"You've got to win your home games, so we have got to beat Leicester. It's a big game – we could either be one point behind them or seven points ahead of them by Saturday afternoon."

Bath: J Maddock; A Higgins, A Crockett (capt), S Berne, M Banahan; B James, S Bemand; D Barnes, P Dixon, D Bell, J Harrison, D Grewcock, P Short, J Fa'amatuainu, D Browne. Reps: R Hawkins, A Jarvis, S Hooper, J Scaysbrook, M Baxter, E Fuimaono, J Cuthbert.

Leicester: G Murphy; J Murphy, D Hipkiss, A Mauger, M Smith; D Hougaard, J Dupuy; B Stankovich, G Chuter, D Cole, R Blaze, M Wentzel, M Corry (captain), L Moody, J Crane. Reps: M Davies, S Bonorino, B Kay, B Deacon, B Youngs, T Varndell, C Newby.