WARRIORS duo Jono Kitto and Isaac Miller say they are ready for a “physical” test against Enisei-STM this weekend.

Worcester return to European Challenge Cup action on Saturday, looking to bounce back from a 25-16 defeat away to Dragons in December.

They currently occupy third place in the pool, behind Dragons and Castres, and will be looking for maximum points to stay in contention for the quarter-finals.

Enisei-STM have lost all four games in the pool so far, including the heavy 57-14 defeat to Warriors in Russia in the reverse fixture, but Miller insists the Russian side will not be taken lightly.

“We are definitely not underestimating them,” he said.

“They’ve had some pretty close games with Castres, especially over there.”

Normally, plenty of analysis would be done on the opposition, but with the Russian league hard to gain footage from, Miller says there’s a huge focus on themselves this week.

“It is difficult to see much of them given we don’t have much access to footage of their competitions. We’re looking to implement our game and shift the ball around but at the same time we’re still looking to match them physically. They’ll come here to try and take us on upfront.”

Enisei are known for being a physical side and Kitto was keen to stress the Warriors need to stay focussed and match them up-front for the full eighty-minutes.

“Obviously, it’s a bit difficult with footage but we have seen some of their games” he said.

“They’re a combative side, a strong group of lads and they look to come off the line hard.”

Despite Worcester’s dominance in the game against the Russians back in November, Kitto expects Enisei to come out with a point to prove, as they look for their first win in Europe this season.

“They put us under a lot of pressure at times and they were very physical,” he said.

“We expect them to come out firing in the first 20 minutes. They have shown in the last few games they can last eighty minutes.

“We have to be at our best for the whole 80 if we are to match their physicality and get the result.”

The build-up to the game has been overshadowed by concerns over Michael Fatialofa’s health, as the second-row remains in an intensive care unit in London, following a serious neck injury.

Miller and Kitto said Fatialofa would want the players to go out and win the game, despite the difficulty of it all.

“Fats put everything on the line wearing the shirt last weekend so we will go out and do the same” Kitto said.

“He will be in our minds as we play but we will be out there to win for him.”