ROSS Wardle believes new centre Adam Warren can be a Newport Gwent Dragons pass master to add an extra dimension to their attack.

The 24-year-old Wales international has headed east from the Scarlets to add to the midfield options at Rodney Parade.

Warren will battle for starts with Wardle, Tyler Morgan, Jack Dixon, Pat Leach, Carl Meyer and Barney Nightingale.

But strong-running Wardle believes Warren, who won his solitary cap against the Barbarians in 2012, will provide something different for the Dragons' rivals to worry about.

"Adam has settled in well and is different to what we've got," said Wardle. "Jack, Tyler, Carl and me are all around 100 to 105kg and he is a little bit smaller.

"He has got a very good skill set and is more pass-minded. Last year we had one of the lowest number of passes from midfield in the Guinness Pro12 and that's something we need to change if we want to score more tries.

"Adam is a good talker and runner but is also strong at distributing, which maybe we have been missing in midfield."

After a summer of tough conditioning plenty of players will be excited by tomorrow's return to the field against Nottingham at the Dragons' training base in Ystrad Mynach (kick-off 7pm) but few will relish the fixture more than Wardle.

The 24-year-old endured a nightmare 2014/15 after injuring his shoulder just seven games after making a return from the knee ligament injury that had ended his previous campaign.

Wardle suffered a blow in the opening exchanges of the Guinness Pro12 win against Zebre at Rodney Parade yet, so desperate was he to make an impression after months on the sidelines, played on and even scored a try.

A post-match scan revealed a significant tear and it was decided to sort out both shoulder under the knife.

He said: "Hopefully I should be fixed now – I've got a new knee and two new shoulders... as long as the other knee holds out I should be alright!

"I am looking forward to the Nottingham game because I've been out for such a long time in the past two seasons.

"It's not been a great time but I am excited at getting back and hopefully staying fit for a while."