Shining brightest among Saracens’ galaxy of stars is no easy task but it was an achievement all the more impressive considering Michael Rhodes was playing out of position for large parts of last season. Add in the fact the 29-year-old effectively did so with a broken collarbone and it becomes not only a remarkable feat but also easy to see why Eddie Jones has been in contact.

It was a surprise, therefore, to see Rhodes on the bench rather than starting against Northampton last Saturday. That is until he explains how, in the European Cup final in May, he suffered a recurrence of an injury first sustained four years ago, underwent surgery to remove a piece of hip bone and attach it to the collarbone, spent three-and-a-half months in a sling and began pre-season training just a few days before that match. It then becomes astonishing he was on the bench at all.

“I injured my shoulder in Cape Town four years ago and it was misdiagnosed when I broke the collarbone. I injured it again when we played Clermont,” the 6ft 6in flanker said. “They had to cut a piece of bone out of my hip and replace a piece of bone in my collarbone with a plate and a couple of things. It ended up being something that could have been prevented four years ago but as it is, it has come right now. The plate is still in. It will remain in there unless it becomes a problem – pain or something like that.”

Rhodes gives the impression that is a sensation he is yet to experience but it soon becomes clear he had been playing through pain for some time. “The tip of my collarbone, about an inch from the end, broke off,” he said. “After it was misdiagnosed, cartilage formed in that break so basically formed a new joint. I played with that discomfort and with rehabbing and strengthening the muscles around it. I managed to play for four years and the joint that formed; I re-broke that against Clermont. I went for scans and it turned out it was broken, not a dislocation as they thought.”

Despite carrying the injury, the South Africa-born blindside flanker appeared in all but one of Saracens 23 Premiership matches, often turning out in the second row, where the team were blighted by injuries. He was ever present throughout their European campaign which culminated with their successful title defence and while six team-mates were picked in the initial Lions touring party, it was Rhodes who was named as the player of the season by his peers.

Having arrived at Saracens in the summer of 2015, Rhodes does not become eligible for England until next summer – and he will not quite do so in time to tour South Africa – but he has made his choice and Jones can pick him next autumn, regardless of the fact World Rugby voted in May to extend the residency period to five years.

So how did the conversation with Jones go? “Just a brief phone call. He just said: ‘Keep up the good work, I’ve got my eye on you,’ and I think it was just a complimentary call. He’s focusing on the players he’s got. I don’t really expect too much communication until I qualify.”

Continuing Saracens’ imperious start to the season is more of a priority and Rhodes starts against Bath on Saturday, having come on with 20 minutes to go at Twickenham and with eight tries already on the scoreboard. Maro Itoje again starts, this time in the second row, while Mako Vunipola, Owen Farrell and Liam Williams are set for their first appearances of the season from the bench. There is still no place for Billy Vunipola, while Anthony Perenise starts at tighthead in Bath’s only change.

In Rhodes’ case, ring rust would be an obvious concern considering how little training he managed over the summer but he clearly relishes the heat of battle. “You’ve just got to get through it, get a bit of game hardness and get back into it,” he said. “Training, you can sometimes be a bit tentative in contact. I’m sure there will be times in the next couple of games when it’s a bit sore but that’s just part of coming back. The game is the best place to test it out, get stuck in, get your mind on other things and go balls to the wall.”