Ellis ruptured his ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in May 2007

Leicester Tigers and England scrum-half Harry Ellis should be fit to face Northampton Saints on Wednesday.

Centre Dan Hipkiss could also feature and Springbok fly-half Derek Hougaard should make his debut against Bath in the EDF Energy Cup on Saturday.

Head coach Heyneke Meyer told BBC Radio Leicester: "It's good news with a lot of the injuries.

"It's a question of more or less staying with the same side. We've just got to learn from our mistakes"

The Tigers still have Lewis Moody, Martin Castrogiovanni, Louis Deacon, and Alesana Tuilagi on the long-term injury list and Seru Rabeni suspended until mid-October.

Leicester are also expected to unveil New Zealand winger Scott Hamilton this week, which Meyer says will give the whole squad a boost.

"Definitely, because we are very thin on the ground in the back three and with Craig Newby arriving in November it's good for our squad."

You can hear live commentary of Leicester Tigers v Northampton Saints on BBC Radio Leicester DAB and online at bbc.co.uk/leicester