Croft hammer blow for Leicester
RUGBY UNION: Leicester are set to be without Tom Croft for their back-to-back Heineken Cup ties against Perpignan after it was confirmed the England flanker suffered a broken shoulder in Saturday’s 21-11 defeat to South Africa. Croft, 25, will see a specialist this week to determine whether further action needs to be taken on the “fractured scapula” but he faces at least four weeks on the sidelines. Northampton wing Chris Ashton will also be assessed by his club after a head-on collision with Victor Matfield left the Springbok captain with a broken rib. Croft, meanwhile, should be available for the start of England’s 6 Nations campaign, which kicks-off on 4 February with a testing encounter against Wales in Cardiff.