Gloucester head coach Bryan Redpath has confirmed that Mike Tindall is almost certain to miss England's Test against Australia.
Redpath upbeat despite another defeat
Gloucester head coach Bryan Redpath has confirmed that Mike Tindall is almost certain to miss England's Test against Australia at Twickenham next Saturday.
Tindall limped off after just 16 minutes of his side's 28-23 Guinness Premiership defeat at Sale.
The 31-year-old centre attempted to chase his own kick from near the halfway line, but pulled up immediately and looked in severe distress as he trudged off the field with his head in his hands.
Redpath said: "It's a recurrence of his hamstring, but not exactly in the same place.
"He trained all week and looked great and makes a difference to us when he is here, but sadly he's aggravated the injury.
"Hopefully it's not too serious and he can get himself back on the pitch pretty quickly.
"I wouldn't know right know when that will be.
"He was only going to play 40 minutes tonight and it's hard to take because he has a massive influence on everyone at this club."
As for the game itself - Gloucester's third straight defeat - Redpath added: "To play with 14 men for 50 minutes and still outscore them by three tries to one, I'm delighted.
"There has been a lot of criticism thrown our way over the last couple of weeks - and in some aspects quite rightly so - but I've never doubted the players' ambition or passion to play for Gloucester.
"Thankfully, the supporters who came up here saw that when we had our backs up against the wall.
Desire
"I'm chuffed to bits with them, and you could see at half-time how they felt.
"I've not questioned the players' desire and I thought the players' performance was the best there has been this season, when we played those 50 minutes with 14 men."
The result eased the pressure on Sale director of rugby Kingsley Jones - it was the Sharks' first league victory since the season's opening weekend.
But Jones said: "There is nobody high-fiving each other in the changing room at the moment, which is a good sign.
"There was pressure because we needed the win tonight, and sometimes it's better to win ugly than to lose smart.
"Let's be honest - it wasn't the greatest game in the world and was about two teams who are struggling."
