NEWPORT Gwent Dragons hooker Rhys Buckley aims to make the most of a rapid recovery by putting the heat on his front row rivals.

The 25-year-old from Caldicot was expecting to be out of action until February after tearing his left pectoral muscle when he got his arm trapped at a collapsed scrum in training in October.

The injury couldn't have come at a worse time as he was pencilled in to enjoy some game time in the LV= Cup and rather than pushing his case for a starting spot he had to watch Elliot Dee and Rhys Thomas impress when sharing the hooking duties.

But an injury to the latter ensured that Buckley made his first appearance of the season off the bench against the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium and now he wants to put the pressure on his in-form rivals.

He said: "They haven't really missed me to be honest! Elliot and 'TRT' have been playing well and it's going to be a tough challenge but I'm looking forward to it.

"I need to put in a few good performances to give the coaches a selection headache. I am definitely not just here to make up the numbers, I am here to challenge for the starting spot.

"Elliot has been playing really well so it's for me to push him out, or at least challenge him for the spot. I back my ability."

Buckley first earned a chance with the Dragons in 2011/12 after catching the eye with Pontypool in the Principality Premiership and went on to make 16 appearances.

He fell out of favour and moved on to ply his trade in the English Championship with Doncaster and Moseley. The injury has denied him the chance to show that he has returned a much-improved player.

"It's been very frustrating," he said. "My last proper game was February last year for Moseley before I had a shoulder operation so that I could do pre-season with the Dragons.

"My recovery from the pec injury has been a lot quicker than I expected and the medical team has been brilliant.

"It was nice to get back out there against the Ospreys, even if it was just for 10 minutes. If TRT is out for a few weeks then my game time will increase and hopefully I will take my chances.

"I know the calls and the patterns but timing is the big thing for a hooker and that will come with repetitions."

If Thomas' groin/hip injury rules him out of the forthcoming encounters with Newcastle and Stade Francais then Buckley will need to be re-registered for Europe.