England captain Jamie Peacock has been ruled out for up to six weeks after damaging ligaments in his knee.
England captain faces race against time to be fit for France clash
England captain Jamie Peacock has been ruled out for up to six weeks after damaging ligaments in his knee.
The Leeds forward suffered the injury during the Rhinos' 26-16 Super League victory over Warrington on Friday.
Scans on Monday revealed that although Peacock does not require surgery, he faces a second injury lay-off of the season having missed four matches earlier in the campaign.
"Jamie Peacock has sprained knee ligaments and will not be available for the next four to six weeks," Leeds' head of physiotherapy Meirion Jones confirmed.
Peacock suffered the injury while trying to prevent Wolves captain Adrian Morley from scoring a try seven minutes into the contest.
His availability for England's clash with France on June 12 has been thrown into major doubt, with Morley coincidentally now the obvious choice to step in at skipper if he does not make it.
New head coach Steve McNamara, who will name his squad on June 1, will already have to deal with the absence of scrum-half Richie Myler due to a knee injury.
Meanwhile, negotiations are taking place with Australian clubs South Sydney and Wests Tigers to secure the release of Sam Burgess and Gareth Ellis for the encounter.
