England wing Jonny May looks likely to miss the whole of the Six Nations campaign with a knee injury.
May was forced to come off during Gloucester’s English Premiership draw against Harlequins at Twickenham last weekend. He sustained the injury while kicking the ball and it has now emerged that he needs surgery.
“Jonny has suffered a pretty significant knee injury that requires surgery,” Gloucester director of rugby David Humphreys told the Gloucester Citizen on Thursday. “He’s seeing a specialist on Tuesday and based on the outcome of that we will have a much clearer picture on what needs to be done.”
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“Most importantly, it is a huge blow for Jonny to suffer an injury like that at this stage of the season, but knowing him and his dedication, he will leave no stone unturned in his recovery,” Humphreys said.
England’s first Six Nations fixture is against Scotland on Feb. 6 and given Humphreys’ bleak prognosis, it seems highly unlikely that May will play any part in the tournament.
The 25-year-old re-established himself as England’s first-choice wing in the second half of last year.
Photo: EPA
His absence would be another blow to new England head coach Eddie Jones, who has already lost back-row forward Dave Ewers, center Henry Slade and prop Kieran Brookes to injury for all, or part, of the Six Nations.
Scotland have also been hit, with Tim Visser set to miss their first three Six Nations matches after suffering a hamstring injury while playing for Harlequins in the same game.
Visser limped off with a hamstring strain during the Gloucester game and the 28-year-old wing faces up to eight weeks on the sidelines.
“Tim Visser is expected to be out for between six to eight weeks due to a hamstring injury sustained during Big Game 8,” a statement on Harlequins’ Web site said.
The best-case scenario would see Visser only sit out Scotland’s opening Six Nations clash against England at Murrayfield and Wales’ visit to Edinburgh a week later.
However, the Netherlands-born Visser, who has played 23 Tests, could also miss Scotland’s trip to Italy on Feb. 26 if his recovery fails to go smoothly.
His injury comes just a week after head coach Vern Cotter lost the services of Glasgow lock Rob Harley to a thumb injury.
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