Sinckler may miss autumn series after being cited for gouging

LIONS prop Kyle Sinckler is in danger of missing England’s autumn international campaign, having been cited last night following an allegation of gouging against him. The 24-year-old Harlequins tighthead will face a disciplinary hearing in Bristol tomorrow, in relation to an incident in the 49th minute of his club’s Aviva Premiership encounter with Northampton at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday. Saints lock Michael Paterson angrily told referee Luke Pearce that Sinckler had made contact with his eye and when the official asked if he was sure, he replied ‘100 per cent’ — although Sinckler (below) protested his innocence. Independent match commissioner Chris Catling cited Sinckler yesterday for ‘making contact with the eye/eye area’. If found guilty, he could face a minimum 12-week ban for a ‘lowerend’ offence, with ‘mid-range’ and ‘top-end’ suspensions starting at 18 and 24 weeks respectively. In theory, a guilty verdict would rule Sinckler out of England’s autumn Tests and keep him sidelined until Christmas. However, he has no significant blemishes on his record, so the sentence could be halved. But even a six-week ban would jeopardise his prospects of playing for England next month. At the time of the incident, Pearce and the TMO were unable to see conclusive proof of gouging, so Sinckler was merely penalised for removing Paterson’s scrum cap. After playing his way into the Test match-day 23 on the Lions tour of New Zealand Sinckler was last week left out of England’s training squad despite having emerged as the primary long-term challenger to Dan Cole for the No 3 shirt.