Bristol have stripped the captaincy from England scrum-half Shaun Perry and handed it back to flanker Matt Salter for the "foreseeable" future, writes Matt Cain.

With club captain Joe El-Abd sidelined until April with a biceps injury, head coach Richard Hill installed Perry as the openside flanker's replacement three matches ago.

Bristol remain bottom of the Guinness Premiership at the halfway stage of the season, having won only one match, and visit Saracens on Sunday.

But the Bristol boss has made a stunning decision to turn to his trusted lieutenant Salter, who led Bristol for four years before stepping down from the role at the end of last season.

Hill said: "I have decided to make Matt Salter captain. This will be for the foreseeable future.

"Shaun can then concentrate on his game. It is very important he is playing at the top of his game. I made Shaun captain and it was tough to put him into that scenario.

"The team isn't playing particularly well. There's pressure mounting on the club and I would rather have Shaun concentrating on his own game. Maybe after last week, he wasn't as good as he or I would have liked.

"We are in a difficult position now. Matt has been used to having that responsibility on his shoulders. He knows what it is like to have the captaincy and all the hassle that goes with it."