England winger Jonny May was left sprawled on the artificial turf after being on the receiving end of a dangerous tackle in Gloucester's game against Worcester on Saturday afternoon.
May, who was making his first appearance for the Cherry and Whites since rejoining them, carried into the Warriors' defensive line deep in the hosts' 22 midway through the first half.
He was tackled by two Worcester defenders, the second of which was full-back Melani Nanai, whose challenge looked potentially dangerous in real time.
Following the collision, May was left on the deck as physios rushed to his aid. Play was halted immediately as referee Christophe Ridley checked with his TMO.
Replays confirmed that Nanai's right arm was by his side in a "slingshot positioning", as Ridley described it.
His shoulder made direct contact to the crown of May's head, leaving the officials little choice but to show the red card. He has since received a three-match ban for the challenge.
May left the field for a head injury assessment - which he failed - and was replaced by Welsh teenage sensation Louis Rees-Zammit.
The incident sparked an angry reaction among pundits and Gloucester fans.
Dai Samuel tweeted: "Dirty and cheap challenge. No excuse. Jonny looked bad going down. Only suprised he wasn't taken straight off for the HIA."
Gloucestershire Live writer Rob Iles commented: "Right decision to send off Nanai. Looked awful in slow motion."
At the time, Worcester were leading 5-0 following an early Ted Hill score but Billy Twelvetrees nailed the ensuing penalty only for Billy Searle to restore Worcester five-point lead shortly after.
Jack Singleton scored for Gloucester to level the scores on the half hour mark.
Ollie Thorley, though, went over in the run up to half time as Gloucester began to make their numerical advantage count. Twelvetrees added the extras to make it 15-8 to the visitors.
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