Balmain requires surgery after 'serious' injury

Gloucester prop Fraser Balmain has been a fixture of their front row this season

Gloucester prop Fraser Balmain suffered a "serious injury" during the team's Champions Cup win over Bordeaux and is due to undergo surgery.

"He's not great, he's got a serious injury there," Gloucester head coach George Skivington told BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

"We're waiting for bits and pieces and a bit of surgery to find out the extent of it."

Balmain has played 11 times for the club so far this season and has scored one try.

"It's certainly not good news for us, especially the form he was in," Skivington added.

The club signed hooker George McGuigan this week on a "long-term" contract, as cover for Jack Singleton who was ruled out for an extended period after suffering a leg injury in the Premiership win over Northampton at the start of December.

Gloucester next travel to face Leinster away in their second group match in the European cup on Friday night.

"We've worked hard to be in this tournament and the opportunity is there for us to go and play against them and we look forward to it," Skivington added.

"It'll be an experience for some lads who haven't been somewhere like that and felt that level of intensity, so we'll embrace it."