England and Saracens' Billy Vunipola is hoping he is able to put his injury troubles behind him

Billy Vunipola has turned to ice baths and regimented sleeping patterns to ensure his latest comeback from surgery is not short lived.

Vunipola produced a powerful 69 minutes in Saracens' 38-15 Aviva Premiership victory over Wasps on Sunday to complete his comeback after four months out with a knee injury.

The giant number eight's comeback was acclaimed as "extraordinary" by his director of rugby Mark McCall and it is hoped by England and Saracens that the 25-year-old's third major operation in 10 months will usher in a period of uninterrupted availability.

To improve his chances of evading further medical setbacks, Vunipola has made adjustments to his preparation.

"I used to turn my nose up at ice baths, but I do them now," Vunipola said.

"They're only five minutes, although I get bored quite easily so I might jump out after two or three minutes. As long as the intention is there!

"I'm trying to sleep better, get in a good routine. Sleeping at a consistent time, like normal people do, not sleep during the day and then not going to bed until one or two am."

Saracens endured a shock seven-match losing run in Vunipola's absence but their rout of title rivals Wasps put further distance between themselves and that bleak spell that reached its nadir with a home thumping by Clermont.

For Vunipola keeping a balanced perspective on the sport is key, particularly after his troubled last year.

"It's just rugby. I've always had that approach but sometimes you can put too many of your eggs into that basket," Vunipola said.

"You've got to appreciate the people around you, whether it's your girlfriend, whatever. You can't take any of them for granted.

"Ospreys on Saturday is a big game, but the following week there is another big game and then the week after that.

"In the Six Nations, there are the biggest games in the world so there are always big games or small games or whatever you want to call them.

"For us, we need to stick to our process, stick together, have fun and a great time. I thought we had a good time against Wasps.

"We really looked out for each other and when times were hard out there with 13 men that is tailor made for the way we play at Saracens.

"Frustrate teams, make people hate us - that's just the we like it."