The 25-year-old was in superb form last year as Tigers pushed for honours on all three fronts, but a knee injury in the Guinness Premiership semi-final win over Bristol brought his season to a disappointing end.
Having been one of Tigers’ key figures in 2006/07 and, arguably, England’s star performer in the RBS 6 Nations, Ellis was forced to miss the Guinness Premiership Final, Heineken Cup Final and the World Cup as he began the long road to recovery.
“It’s frustrating but its part of being a professional rugby player,” says the Tigers Academy product. “You have to take the injuries as they come. Hopefully, the cloud will have a silver lining if I can come back a better player.
“I just want to try and come back as fit as possible. I’m not rushing things and I haven’t set a date but I’m very lucky that I’ve got a great set of physios and support staff who are working very hard with me. Julie Hayton and Ollie Richardson have been fantastic. I’m doing a lot of gym work and I’m working really hard in the rehab room trying to come back fitter and stronger. Everything’s going really well and I’m really positive.”