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England wing Denny Solomona used ban to prep for tour of South Africa

Denny Solomona was banned for four weeks which caused him to miss the end of the season. Lynne Cameron/Getty Images

England wing Denny Solomona has sought to make the most of his ban for verbal use by undergoing a conditioning programme as preparation for next month's tour to South Africa.

Solomona is among the 34 players who will depart for South Africa next month and is in contention to start against the Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday week.

The 24-year-old Sale man missed four weeks of the business end of the season following allegations of directing a gay insult towards Worcester' Jamie Shillcock in March, a decision the Sharks found "very disappointing".

Solomona hints at his own dismay at the decision, but insists he has put the time to good use.

"It was one person's word against mine, but I've served my four weeks and that's it," Solomona said. "I was in front of the panel, was done for four weeks and I have served my time and am just putting that behind me and looking forward to training.

"I'm fresh after not playing and now I'm looking forward to playing some rugby again. I did four weeks of pre-season training with our S&C staff and I had [England's head of sports science] Dean Benton help me out with a few things to prepare me for this campaign."