Leicester lock Slater ruled out for two months

Leicester Tigers lock Ed Slater will miss the next two months of rugby due to a knee injury which rules him out of contention for the Six Nations.

Slater missed out on selection for the 2015 Rugby World Cup but did make Stuart Lancaster’s 51 man pre-tournament squad.

The twenty-seven-year-old lock has won four caps with England Saxons and is on the fringes of the England squad so could have been in new coach Eddie Jones’ plans.

The Leicester lock damaged ligaments in his right knee during Saturday’s Aviva Premiership loss to Saracens at Allianz Park.

Slater’s injury comes after he missed the start of the season with a knee injury. He also missed nine months of playing time last season after undergoing surgery on his left knee.

“It’s probably six to eight weeks,” director of rugby Richard Cockerill told BBC Radio Leicester.

“He has a medial injury on the inside of his right knee. It is not a horrifically bad injury; it’s a pretty straightforward one.

“It’s not ideal but that’s the game.”