Tindall out for three months

London - England centre Mike Tindall is expected to miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on an ankle injury, his club Gloucester said on Tuesday.

Tindall stood in for injured flanker Lewis Moody to captain England as they won their first four Six Nations games but damaged ligaments late in the first half of the match against Scotland and missed last Saturday's defeat in Ireland.

Gloucester, currently third in the Premiership and who won the LV Cup last weekend, said on their website (www.gloucesterrugby.co.uk) that Tindall was expected to be out for 12 weeks.

England's next match is a World Cup warm-up against Wales on August 6 at Twickenham. They face Wales again in Cardiff a week later before playing Ireland in Dublin on August 27, five days after the deadline for naming the 30-man World Cup squads.

The World Cup begins in New Zealand on September 9 and England's first game is against Argentina on September 10.