WASPS WILL TRAVEL to Ravenhill for the opening game of the Champions Cup pool stages without Danny Cipriani, after it was confirmed the out-half will be sidelined for up to three months.
The England international sustained a serious knee injury during Wasps’ Premiership defeat to Harlequins at the weekend and Wasps have confirmed he suffered a tear in the medial ligament.
Cipriani saw a specialist today and the initial prognosis is that he’ll be out of action for between eight to 12 weeks, meaning the 29-year-old will likely miss the first four rounds of Wasps’ European campaign.
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Dai Young’s side face Ulster in the Pool 1 opener on Friday 13 October before hosting Quins and facing La Rochelle in back-to-back fixtures before Christmas.
Cipriani’s unavailability is a major blow to Wasps’ title ambitions both at home and in Europe, who have also lost flanker Alex Rieder for four months after had surgery on his shoulder.
“It’s obviously not ideal to be without some of our key players, but it is likely to happen to a number of clubs at some stage during the season,” Wasps director of rugby Dai Young said.
“Unfortunately, we’ve picked up a few injuries early doors which is obviously going to stretch us, but we just need to deal with that. We have a strong squad and that’s what building quality throughout the squad is for.”
The loss of Cipriani, who won the last of his 14 international caps back in August 2015, is offset slightly by the return to training of Kiwi out-half Jimmy Gopperth, who had also been operating at centre for Wasps.
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Blow for Ulster's Champions Cup opponents as Cipriani ruled out for 12 weeks
WASPS WILL TRAVEL to Ravenhill for the opening game of the Champions Cup pool stages without Danny Cipriani, after it was confirmed the out-half will be sidelined for up to three months.
The England international sustained a serious knee injury during Wasps’ Premiership defeat to Harlequins at the weekend and Wasps have confirmed he suffered a tear in the medial ligament.
Cipriani saw a specialist today and the initial prognosis is that he’ll be out of action for between eight to 12 weeks, meaning the 29-year-old will likely miss the first four rounds of Wasps’ European campaign.
Dai Young’s side face Ulster in the Pool 1 opener on Friday 13 October before hosting Quins and facing La Rochelle in back-to-back fixtures before Christmas.
Cipriani’s unavailability is a major blow to Wasps’ title ambitions both at home and in Europe, who have also lost flanker Alex Rieder for four months after had surgery on his shoulder.
“Unfortunately, we’ve picked up a few injuries early doors which is obviously going to stretch us, but we just need to deal with that. We have a strong squad and that’s what building quality throughout the squad is for.”
The loss of Cipriani, who won the last of his 14 international caps back in August 2015, is offset slightly by the return to training of Kiwi out-half Jimmy Gopperth, who had also been operating at centre for Wasps.
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