Leicester face a stiff test of their back-row resources after it emerged yesterday that neither Lewis Moody nor Neil Back will play again before Christmas.
Moody underwent surgery yesterday on a damaged shoulder which has been troubling him for months and Back has been diagnosed with a fractured cheekbone, sustained while playing with Moody for England against South Africa at Twickenham last weekend. The 33-year-old Back hopes to play in Leicester's Premiership game at Wasps on December 27 but Moody's chances of a swift return seem more remote.
His director of rugby Dean Richards said x-rays had revealed "a certain amount of instability" in Moody's shoulder and, with World Cup year looming, delaying an operation until May would have affected England's build-up. Even club officials acknowledge it "could be two or three months" before Moody is fit again; if so, he is unlikely to feature in England's opening Six Nations game, against France in February.
Moody's injury was not a direct consequence of Springbok foul play but Back hinted he will be reviewing the Twickenham match video to discover exactly how he sustained a fracture to the bone just below his right eye.
"I honestly don't know how it happened," he said yesterday. "If memory serves it was about 10 minutes into the second half. I was aware of a big impact and I went down on one knee to make sure everything was in place. It was checked by the RFU doctor after the game but, although he had a good press around, he didn't feel any fractures and nor did I. I just thought it was a normal bang."
Back duly completed the 80 minutes and it was only when his face swelled up painfully after a gym bike session on Monday that he realised something was wrong. X-rays on Tuesday confirmed a cracked cheekbone, although for some reason the club were still claiming as late as yesterday lunchtime that Back had merely suffered bruising.
The Tigers are now without two international flankers for this week's big game against Northampton and next month's home-and-away European ties against Béziers, but Richards does have one remaining world-class open-side in the former All Black Josh Kronfeld.
The England prop Graham Rowntree is also back in training after missing the autumn internationals but the Gloucester prop Trevor Woodman is unlikely to feature in the opening Six Nations match after slipping a disk in his neck in training earlier this month.
Woodman missed the victories over Australia and South Africa and he has consulted the physiotherapist Don Gatherer, who helped save the career of Jason Leonard seven years ago when the Harlequins prop suffered a serious neck injury.
"It is a waiting game and it is difficult to assess a comeback time," Woodman said. "When I hold my left palm down I cannot pick up my fingers. If the symptoms die down in the next couple of weeks, I would hope to be back within three months."
England have arranged another match in the build-up to next year's World Cup. They will face the New Zealand Maori in New Plymouth on June 9.
