DANISH star Hans Andersen admits his fitness is still a grey area ahead of the upcoming SGB Premiership campaign.
The Pirates captain was ruled out of the back end of last season after he sustained a broken finger on his clutch hand in August.
A collision with Poole guest Max Fricke during the defeat at Leicester saw Andersen's play-off hopes dashed.
And although the 36-year-old revealed the injury had greatly improved over the off-season, he admitted he was unsure if it was fully healed.
Questioned about his fitness, Andersen told the Daily Echo: "I haven't tested it, I haven't been on a motocross bike or anything.
"I don't know how the hand will react but it feels a lot better. I've done a lot of lifting weights which has helped strengthen the fingers.
"They can bend completely again. When I do that it feels a bit tight but at least I can bend them, whereas at the end of last season I couldn't even do that properly.
"Now I can close my hand fully. I'm pretty raring to go and happy the season is not far away now."
Andersen's second-in-command at Poole this year will be Kyle Newman, the recently-appointed vice-captain.
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