London - England flyhalf Toby Flood could miss the start of the Six Nations after suffering a knee injury, it was reported on Thursday.
The Daily Mail said the 26-year-old Leicester playmaker faced up to six weeks on the sidelines, leaving him in doubt for England's opener with Scotland at Murrayfield on February 4 and the following match against Italy in Rome.
"Toby has had a bang on the knee and it's being treated," Leicester director of rugby Richard Cockerill was quoted by the Mail as saying. "We'll just have to wait and see how it progresses."
Any injury to Flood would give interim England coach Stuart Lancaster a major selection headache, with Jonny Wilkinson also announcing his retirement from Test rugby last month.
Flood's absence potentially opens the door to Saracens youngster Owen Farrell and Gloucester's Freddie Burns.
Meanwhile England could also be without Flood's Leicester team-mate Manu Tuilagi for the Scotland match, the Daily Telegraph reported.
The Samoan-born centre suffered a hamstring injury against Worcester on December 27 and faces a race to be fit for the start of the Six Nations.
"Manu
will be out for four to six weeks," Cockerill is quoted as telling the
Daily Telegraph. "It may be a month depending on how his rehab goes."