JOHN Brain has revealed Warriors points machine Shane Drahm played through the pain barrier for much of last season.

Drahm pulled out of England's Churchill Cup tour last week in order to allow scar tissue in his knee to heal and director of rugby Brain believes a break from rugby is essential for the fly-half's long-term fitness.

"We've been concerned about Shane's fitness all season," he said. "He had quite extensive surgery on his knee last summer.

"Shane's played in quite a bit of pain in games this season and the scar tissue has not been given a proper window of time to settle down."

Drahm finished as the Premiership's third highest points scorer despite missing almost all of Worcester's pre-season training and being hampered with various injuries through the campaign.

"To be perfectly honest, he probably played for us far sooner than he should have," said Brain. "He's had to play dosed up with quite a bit of medication.

"What we were keen to do is make sure Shane gets a course of treatment and rests so he's fully fit to play in the pre-season games and start the Premiership.

"It's in his best interests not to play on an England tour when he's not 100 per cent fit and it's in Worcester's best interests for him to be fully fit for the start of the season. I think it's just a sensible course of action."

Thankfully, the Australian-born player requires no further surgery on his knee and should be available for Worcester's three pre-season fixtures, starting in mid-August.