“EXPLOSIVE” lock Michael Fatialofa is poised to make his eagerly-anticipated Worcester Warriors debut when they host Pau in the European Challenge Cup on Saturday (3pm).

A knee issue that he “aggravated” while playing for Auckland in the Mitre10 Cup has delayed Fatialofa’s first outing for Warriors.

But head coach Rory Duncan said the powerful New Zealander who made the move to Sixways at the beginning of November had “impressed” in training this week and was ready to take to the field.

Fatialofa, 26, has joined Warriors on a two-year deal from Super Rugby outfit Hurricanes.

“I think you can anticipate that he will play this weekend,” Duncan said.

“It is quite exciting to have a player of that calibre available.

“He arrived here off the back of a busy schedule in New Zealand. We believe that we have given him sufficient time to be able to rest, recover and prepare himself for the upcoming games.

“He has got the ability to be able to run the lineout.

“He is also a strong, explosive player that will be a great advantage in terms of ball carrying and our defensive structure.

“He has impressed in training and I am looking forward to seeing him in a game scenario.”

The availability of Fatialofa is also a welcome boost for Warriors as locks Darren Barry and Andrew Kitchener were forced off in last Friday’s 21-6 defeat at Pau.

The duo clashed heads in a tackle and Duncan confirmed they would play no part in the reverse fixture at Sixways.

“Both of them were committed to the tackle and hit heads,” Duncan said.

“The fact they were taken off doesn’t mean they failed the HIA (head injury assessment).

“We just took them off.

“I don’t quite know the seriousness of it.

“We will assess the players on an ongoing basis so both of them have had a bit of downtime and we will catch up with them a little later on in the week.

“But the medical guys are obviously in contact with them.”

To add to Warriors’ woes in France Pau scored their third converted try while Barry and Kitchener were receiving treatment.

“I can understand it from the referee’s perspective,” Duncan added.

“I am assuming that he did not see the incident taking place.

“It was a phase or two after when they scored.

“When he looked back he saw two players lying on the ground.

“It’s one of those things.”