England lose injured Vickery

Gloucester prop Phil Vickery is likely to miss England's opening Lloyds TSB Six Nations matches against Scotland and Ireland after discovering he has a broken bone in his hand.

Hospital scans have revealed the British Lions forward suffered the unlucky break in his side's Parker Pen Shield victory in La Rochelle last Saturday.

The Cherry-and-Whites captain has had the break encased in a removable cast and has been told that he faces a lay-off of between five and six weeks.

That will definitely rule him out of the Calcutta Cup clash at Murrayfield on Saturday, February 2, and makes him doubtful for the home game with Ireland a fortnight later.

Vickery missed the defeat by Ireland in October with a knee injury but played in England's last match, the defeat of world champions Australia, on November 10.

The injury is a major blow, too, to Gloucester, who will be without Vickery's front-row colleague Trevor Woodman for six weeks after he was banned for stamping in the match against La Rochelle.

Woodman was in line to play for England A against Scotland A at Northampton on February 1.

The props will be absent for Gloucester's quarter-final ties in both the Powergen Cup and the Parker Pen Shield against London Irish and Ebbw Vale.