Ulster keep a close eye on Leicester's injury crisis

THE LEICESTER Tigers are suffering something of an injury crisis, a state of chassis that will be monitored closely by Ulster. The English club seem certain to be without centre Manu Tuilagi, outhalf Toby Flood and secondrow Louis Deacon for their pivotal Heineken Cup, round-five tussle with the province at Ravenhill next Friday night.

The Tigers will definitely be without the 20-year-old younger Tuilagi and Deacon, both of whom are also expected to miss part, or in the case of the latter, all of the Six Nations Championship. Flood damaged a knee in Leicester’s recent victory over Sale and could be sidelined for a month.

The Tigers’ director of rugby, Richard Cockerill, admitted Tuilagi had suffered a hamstring injury, before adding: “Manu will be out for four to six weeks. It may be a month, depending on how his rehab goes.”

The medical prognosis on Deacon was worse. “Louis has ruptured a hamstring at the top of a leg and will be out for probably three or four months, pretty much the rest of the season.

“We may get him back for the tail end of the campaign, but we don’t know exactly yet because it is a really tricky one. Louis got his boot caught in the collar of somebody’s shirt and did the splits. Something had to give and, unfortunately, it was his hamstring. It’s disappointing for him and we’ll miss him a lot.”

Media reports in England have suggested Flood could be out for up to six weeks but Cockerill was non-committal when discussing the injury. He pointed out: “Toby has had a bang on the knee and it’s being treated. We’ll just have to wait and see how it progresses.”

Ireland’s Jeremy Staunton has been on the bench for the Tigers in recent games but they have also used Billy Twelvetrees in the number 10 jersey.