Wasps scrum-half Joe Simpson sidelined with ankle injury
Tuesday 26 January 2016 15:35, UK
Wasps scrum-half Joe Simpson will miss "four to six weeks as a minimum" after suffering an ankle injury during Saturday's 51-10 Champions Cup victory over Leinster.
The 27-year-old was forced out of the game at the Ricoh Arena after only five minutes and could require an operation after an initial scan on the problem area proved inconclusive.
The injury is a major blow to Simpson's hopes of forcing his way into the England squad for the Six Nations.
England coach Eddie Jones selected just Danny Care and Ben Youngs as recognised scrum-halves in his squad, which left Wasps boss Dai Young hopeful that Simpson could be drafted in during the tournament.
"Joe's ankle is quite swollen, so the scan didn't give us as much information as we'd have liked," Young said.
"It's safe to say he's probably looking at four to six weeks as a minimum. If the surgeon feels he needs an operation, then it could be a little bit longer."
A knee injury ruled Simpson out of contention for England's World Cup squad and his only international appearance so far came at the 2011 World Cup, but Young has backed him to overcome this latest setback.
"You just can't help but feel sorry for him, because he always seems to pick up an injury at the wrong time," said Young.
"He was disappointed obviously not to be in the squad, but you can see there were only two nines in there, so the likelihood of going through this whole campaign with two nines was probably remote.
"So I'd like to believe he would have been the next cab off the rank. I believe he would have had some involvement, so hopefully he could be back in four to six weeks so it doesn't rule him out.
"Anything longer than that and he'd have to be aiming for the tour at the end of the year.
"It's very similar to his situation before the World Cup really, but I'm sure his time will come."
