England have been hit by the news fly-half Toby Flood will miss the start of the RBS 6 Nations due to damaged knee ligaments.
The 26-year-old, who suffered the injury during Leicester's 28-23 win over Sale on Sunday, is looking at six weeks on the sidelines and is highly unlikely to be fit for England's opening 6N clash against Scotland on February 4.
Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill told the Leicester Mercury: "He hurt his knee on Sunday and we initially thought it was just like a dead leg but it swelled up overnight and he went to see a specialist to determine the exact nature of the injury.
"It turns out that he has tweaked his ligaments and is likely to be out for four to six weeks, which is not as bad as we feared at one stage.
"But it still rules him out of the Wasps and Ulster games, which is not great after Manu Tuilagi and Louis Deacon's recent injuries."
Charlie Hodgson will now look to secure Flood's fly-half spot for England, while Owen Farrell and Freddie Burns will also be looking to get the nod.