Sale head coach Kingsley Jones would love Charlie Hodgson to be the star of the show in the visit of Guinness Premiership leaders Gloucester to Edgeley Park on Friday night.

Hodgson missed last Sunday's defeat at Saracens after being called up by England when Danny Cipriani was axed for his nightclub visit.

Jonny Wilkinson was then dropped for his part in the Murrayfield shambles, but only as far as the bench and so Hodgson is back on club duty.

"It's a massive boost," said Jones. "He's such an influential player for us and we need as much quality on the pitch as we can against a high quality Gloucester side.

"I know Charlie will respond the right way. I take my hat off to him the way he has responded to the selections for England since before the World Cup and I hope he'll have a man-of-the-match performance."

Sale are looking over their shoulders in fourth place and Jones added: "We need to be desperate and put the home results back to where they were before.

"My concern is playing against the lower end sides that are perceived to be not as strong. But when we play in a big match like a semi-final or final I have absolute confidence in this squad."

Ben Foden, off to become Northampton's scrum-half next season, is summoned for his first start since November at full-back, while Gloucester make one change.

That sees 18-year-old Charlie Sharples given his first league start on the wing, with James Simpson-Daniel - another unable to force his way into the England side - switching to outside centre to replace broken nose victim Jack Adams.

Luke Narraway, no longer part of the international squad either, is on the bench.

Gloucester head coach Dean Ryan commented: "It will obviously be a big test for us against a team of Sale's all-round abilities and qualities."

The one Premiership game tomorrow is Leicester against Saracens, third against fifth.

Leicester will be looking to bounce back from their shock defeat to Worcester - their third loss in four games - while former England centre Andy Farrell is available for Saracens again after shaking off a rib injury which has seen him miss the past three Premiership matches.

"Going to Welford Road is a great challenge at any time of the year, but for us it's the start of a big run of games," said the 32-year-old.

"I've been so frustrated in the past few weeks at not being able to play my part, especially as our performances haven't been as we would have liked.

"We had a tough few weeks where we had a dip in form, but in any sport, that will happen to most teams over the course of a season - it even happens to the likes of Manchester United.

"The Tigers have also had a difficult month, but from our perspective hopefully we've ended our tricky period by getting that crucial win against Sale last weekend.

"Looking at the league table and how congested it is, I think the make-up of the top four will go down to the wire. Our run-in sees us with the current top three still to play."

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