Bristol Bears face the prospect of being without star loosehead prop Ellis Genge for the rest of the season after the England international was cited for a dangerous tackle in the 36-20 defeat to Sale Sharks on Friday night.
Genge was shown a yellow card in the 54th minute of the contest at Ashton Gate for a tackle on fellow England teammate Tom Curry which saw him make contact with the head of the Sharks flanker with his left shoulder.
After looking at the incident with the help of TMO Dean Richards, match referee Luke Pearce judged the illegal tackle was only worthy of a yellow card as he judged it to not be 'highly dangerous.' However, on review, citing officer Dave Guyan has judged the tackle meets the criteria of a red card offence and so has called Genge before an independent disciplinary panel, chaired by Matthew Weaver KC, which will sit on Tuesday night.
A low-grade offence carries a two-week ban as a starting point, while a mid-range offence starts at six weeks.
Bristol have two games remaining this season, away at Exeter Chiefs on Saturday and then at home to Gloucester on the final day of the season. Following defeat to second-place Sale on Friday night the Bears have no chance of making the playoffs this season but are fighting to retain a spot in the top eight to ensure they are playing Heineken Champions Cup rugby next season.
Bristol are currently in eighth, with the Cherry and Whites a point behind in ninth and Bath four points worse off in tenth, with all three West Country teams level on games played.
Should Genge be found guilty and tackle be judged as a mid-range offence, the latter of which seems unlikely, any ban would also have an impact on the England vice-captain's World Cup preparation as he would miss a number of the national side's summer warm-up games as well.
England play Wales home and away, Ireland and Fiji before heading out to France where they kick off the 2023 tournament against Argentina.
Genge rejoined his hometown side Bristol from Leicester Tigers in the summer, but what with international commitments and mandatory rest, has played just 713 minutes over 11 games for the club this season. The 28-year-old has also played nine games for England.
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