Rugby: Vickery faces lay-off

Injury-hit Lions prop Phil Vickery will miss England’s final Six Nations Championship game against Italy on Sunday week.

The Gloucester captain has a stress fracture of his right foot, and could face a further four weeks on the sidelines.

Vickery sat out England’s record 50-10 victory over Wales last Saturday, with Bristol tighthead Julian White proving an effective deputy, but the injury’s full extent has now been diagnosed.

‘‘I am really cheesed off, but there is nothing I can do about it,’’ Vickery said.

‘‘I did it in the league game against Sale three weeks ago. I just landed heavily it is one of those things.’’

The 26-year-old hopes to recover in time for Gloucester’s Parker Pen European Shield semi-final against Sale on April 28.

Second-placed Gloucester face three Zurich Premiership games before then, but they will have to battle on without Vickery when they tackle Saracens tomorrow and then Northampton and Bristol.

Vickery, capped 25 times and a Test Lion in Australia last summer, would have probably added at least another dozen games to his international tally had it not been for the handful of injury setbacks suffered since his England debut against Wales four years ago.

England boss Clive Woodward is due to name the starting XV for Rome next Wednesday, with White set to retain the number three jersey and win his 13th cap.