Gloucester’s Lesley Vainikolo has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after going under the knife to repair damage on a ruptured Achilles tendon.
The 29-year-old has had a tough few months after being arrested for grievous bodily harm, following an incident in Bath and is set to appear before Bristol Crown Court on 13 January.
Gloucester head coach Dean Ryan has sympathy for Vainikolo but is more concerned about his thinning squad, “Les is a massive part of our squad and it will leave a very significant gap. With the current injuries we have in the squad, at the moment this could not have come at a worse time.”