Crocked Wilko could miss Six Nations
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:25
England's favourite son, Jonny Wilkinson, is likely to miss the 2009 Six Nations tournament after having an operation last Friday to repair his dislocated knee.
The surgeon is reported to have repaired the muscles and ligaments on Wilkinson's left knee cap, and also examined the flyhalf's cartilage.
The minimum recovery period for this kind of injury is usually around four months, but it is feared that the World Cup-winning No.10 could actually be out for longer.
Wilkinson has already been ruled out for England's November Test series at Twickenham, and now it looks unlikely that he will feature in the Six Nations which starts for England on February 7 against Italy at the same venue.
"We have been told that four months is a time scale we should be working towards," Newcastle's Director of Rugby Steve Bates told the Evening Standard.
"If, for any reason, they have to go back into the knee then the
timing could be different."
Four months would take Wilkinson to the start of February - leaving him little time to gain match fitness ahead of the Six Nations.
England now look set to choose London Wasps No.10 Danny Cipriani, who was selected ahead of Wilkinson in England's final Six Nations clash against Ireland at Twickenham earlier this year.
Cipriani made his comeback last week in the Guinness Premiership, though was pulled from the Wasps team on Saturday in their EDF Energy Cup fixture against Gloucester.
He is, however, expected to be named in the Wasps line-up to face Castres in their Heineken Cup opener on Sunday.
On the flipside, Wilkinson could, in fact, recover faster than expected and be ready to feature for England just as his flyhalf rival Cipriani did this year.
