Steven Luatua ruled out for 10 weeks with injury

All Black back-row forward has been ruled out for the rest of the Championship season with a knee injury, confirms Bristol Rugby.

The 26-year-old will be out of action for up to ten weeks after sustaining the injury early in last weekend’s defeat to Jersey at Ashton Gate.

“Unfortunately, that’s the nature of the game – but he now joins the RTP group (return to perform) and we’re confident he’ll make a speedy recovery, so the show must go on,” said Pat Lam.

“It’s not a major injury, it’s just that the timing isn’t great. So, it’s now a chance for the next guy to step up. It’s no different from every other player – once one is down, the next guy steps up and does the job. We’re confident we’ve got good cover for him.”