Ellis Genge ruled out two to three weeks with wrist injury suffered against Sale

Bristol Bears will face Premiership champions Northampton Saints on Saturday without Ellis Genge, after the England and Lions loosehead was ruled out with a sprained wrist sustained in last weekend’s 34-24 victory over Sale Sharks.

Genge suffered the injury in the very first tackle of the game and played on for more than an hour before asking to be substituted in the second half, having struggled to maintain grip in the scrum. Scans have since confirmed a sprain, and Bears head coach Pat Lam expects the prop to be sidelined for no more than two to three weeks.

“You would have seen in the very first tackle of the game when we kicked the ball down — Genji made the tackle and he just caught his wrist in an awkward place,” Lam said on his weekly media call. “He sprained his wrist in that. So he won’t be available this week, and as the game went on, he was having trouble getting a grip scrummaging. So he actually signalled he’d better come off in that second half.”

The injury is a frustrating setback for Genge, who was playing his first game of the season after an extended rest following international duty over the summer. Lam was quick to praise the loosehead’s attitude in dealing with the setback.

“He was in great form and trained really well since he came back, and he was very ready to go,” Lam added. “Like any player, just frustrated, but once you accept it — which he did early in the week — he’s just cracked on. I saw him out running, and because it’s not for a long time, he will be prepared for when he comes back again.”

Bristol head into Saturday’s home fixture on the back of a winning start to the Premiership season, but the absence of one of European rugby’s most influential loosehead props will test their depth in the front row against the reigning champions.