'Life changes fast' - Bristol face injury test, says Lam

Bristol face a challenge to navigate injuries in their squad following their heavy loss to Sale Sharks, director of rugby Pat Lam has said.

The Bears were thrashed 38-0 for their biggest home defeat in eight years on Friday, a week after a record-breaking win on the road at Leicester.

They saw fly-half AJ MacGinty ruled out for four months with a knee injury before the match leaving Bristol with their third-choice number 10.

England prop Ellis Genge missed the match because of a back spasm, while wing Gabriel Ibitoye and prop Max Lahiff both left the field either side of half-time.

Bristol remain second in the table after nine matches, prior to leaders Bath playing fourth-placed Saracens on Saturday.

"We're in a strong position for the work that we've done," Lam told BBC Sport.

"This is the thing about the Premiership, it's relentless and the biggest challenge we have and every team has is either the size of your squad or the injuries - who can navigate the injuries the best because it's going to happen.

"That's our challenge at the moment going forward but I think when we look at where we're at, life changes real fast from this time after last week but we've got to take it as a whole."

'We won't be defined by loss'

The Bears have one of the smallest squads in the league with 39 first-team players, and were already dealt a blow before Christmas with news that versatile back Max Malins - who can play at full-back or fly-half - will miss the rest of the season with an Achillies injury.

The loss of MacGinty and Malins left Bristol starting against Sale with 21-year-old academy player Sam Worsley at 10.

"One of the things we have tried to do with a smaller squad is make sure we bring that ceiling up, and we have done that. A lot of young guys new to the Premiership coming through, they're getting great experience," Lam said.

"We've tried different guys to cover the holes but it does have an effect."

While Lam said he hoped Genge would be back available for their next game, he was unsure on the extent of top try scorer Ibitoye's injury.

Bristol travel to the StoneX Stadium next Saturday aiming to claim their first win there against Saracens.

"There's been ups and downs and this one is a bit of an outlier and that is massive respect to Sale and what they did, but we won't be defined by that," added Lam. "We'll learn from it and move on."