England centre Ben Te’o is a major doubt for the opening two matches of the Six Nations as he battles back from a troublesome ankle injury.
The 30-year-old New Zealand-born rugby league convert hasn’t played for his club side Worcester since sustaining the injury in the Challenge Cup win over Brive on October 14.
And the Premiership club now have confirmed that the injury will sideline Te’o for “approximately four weeks” more which means he will miss the clash with Italy in Rome on Sunday, 4 February, followed by the home game with Wales at Twickenham on Saturday, 10 February.
Te’o has made just seven appearances for his club this season since featuring for the British and Irish Lions in the drawn series against New Zealand in June last year.