England captain Phil Vickery faces a nervous wait to discover the extent of his knee injury.
Injury to England skipper overshadows fine Wasps win
England captain Phil Vickery faces a nervous wait to discover the extent of his knee injury.
Vickery damaged his right knee during Wasps' 29-19 Guinness Premiership victory over Sale at Adams Park which strengthened the Londoners' push for a place in the play-offs.
He has not damaged the anterior cruciate ligaments but his season - and possibly this summer's England tour to New Zealand - remains in doubt after his right leg was twisted awkwardly in a ruck.
Vickery was strapped up and tried to continue but, after two scrums, he limped off. He emerged from the changing room midway through the second-half on crutches and his knee packed with ice.
Damage unclear
Wasps director of rugby Ian McGeechan said: "It is not his ACL. He got his leg twisted but, until he gets it scanned, nobody knows what damage he has done."
It was the only sour point in a crucial victory for Wasps which, coupled with Leicester's defeat at Bath, moves them into the Premiership's top four for the first time this season.
Tom Voyce and Paul Sackey scored the tries and Danny Cipriani kicked 19 points as Wasps completed their seventh consecutive victory.
McGeechan said: "The players have worked really hard and we are really proud of them. That last defensive play, when Sale went back 30 yards with the ball, showed the attitude.
"You don't get much spirit like that to the pound.
"The three games we played in the Six Nations without eight players set the atmosphere.
"I don't think people have noticed it but since we got all our players back from the World Cup, we have been consistent right through. We have only lost one Premiership game since October.
"Tonight was a tremendous game of Premiership rugby. It was nip and tuck, it was physical and you don't get many more competitive games than that.
Scrum difference
"I thought our scrummaging was excellent. We had a 100% lineout and in critical games like this, that makes the difference."
At 17-3 up, Wasps had the game in the bag before Sale full-back Ben Foden set up an exciting finish as he danced over for the Sharks' only try, while Charlie Hodgson kicked 14 points.
But Wasps closed out the game well, Cipriani slotting two late penalties to deny Sale the losing bonus point and leave Sharks director of rugby Philippe Saint Andre a frustrated man.
"I am really disappointed for the guys," he said.
"They worked very hard. We didn't have enough possession in the first half and they got the intercept try (for Voyce) but in the second half we kept the ball, we created a lot of opportunities.
"I think the Heineken Cup qualification places will come down to just one point and I feel that today we lost a minimum of one point.
"We need to win the next three games and then wait and see what happens."
