Sale Sharks and England prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour is set to miss the next six weeks with an elbow injury.
He hyperextended the joint in the opening scrum of Sale’s Prem defeat by Exeter Chiefs on Friday.
The 21-year-old, who featured in two of England’s four internationals last month, has started all six of Sale’s Prem fixtures this season.
Opoku-Fordjour will now miss at least the opening two games of Sale’s Champions Cup campaign, as well as the three league matches to be played over the festive period.
But he should return to domestic action before Steve Borthwick names his England squad for the Six Nations, with their first game against Wales on 7 February.