Gloucester Rugby finds themselves in a frustrating state of uncertainty regarding the status of their new star, Zach Mercer, and his ankle injury.
The number 8 sustained this injury during the team’s 24-3 defeat to Saracens on Friday night.
Currently, it appears highly improbable that the Cherry and Whites will include Mercer in their squad for the upcoming clash against Sale Sharks on Friday night in Round Four of the 2023/24 Gallagher Premiership.
The club’s medical staff must patiently wait for the swelling to subside before they can conduct a scan on Mercer’s injured joint within the next 36 hours. This scan will provide a clearer picture of the extent of the damage.
Despite limping off the field after just 30 minutes at Kingsholm, Mercer has lived up to the high expectations since joining Gloucester from Montpellier.
He leads the league with an impressive 48 carries and has beaten more defenders than anyone else in the league, with a remarkable 20. His injury occurred as he was attempting to score a try, which was unfortunately disallowed for a knock-on.
Speaking on Wednesday in his midweek press conference, Gloucester director of rugby George Skivington told GloucestershireLive: “I don’t know how it is at the moment.
“It is significant enough that we are fully investigating it.
“It has been even harder to judge with a new player as well because you have got no track record to bounce off or work out from how they are behaving. We will know by the end of the week.”
England get easy pool for 2027 Rugby World Cup
With the current World Rankings in mind, let’s delve into how the 2027 Rugby World Cup will shape up via Rugby Centre.
2027 Rugby World Cup draw (Current rankings)
POOL A
- South Africa
- Australia
- Portugal
- Spain
POOL B
- France
- Fiji
- Tonga
- Chile
