Tom Curry has sustained a hamstring tear that will keep him out of England's first two Six Nations matches, but he is set to be in contention for the clash with Wales at the end of February.
Curry, who captained England for the first time in last year's championship, injured his right leg in a tackle in the first half of Sale Sharks' win against Harlequins on Sunday.
With Steve Borthwick taking charge of England for the first time in their February 4 opener against Scotland, the injury left Curry little time to recover.
Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson confirmed Curry would miss that match and the subsequent meeting with Italy, but the setback could have been worse.
15' | 03-00
— Sale Sharks (@SaleSharksRugby) January 8, 2023
Sale throw again on halfway after Murley clears his lines a second time.
Tom Curry leaves the field and is replaced by Jono Ross.#HARvSAL | @PremRugby
"It's not as bad as we thought," Sanderson said. "A [grade] 3c [tear] would have been six to eight weeks, and he would have been looking to play at the back end of the Six Nations.
"With it being a 2c and Tom being very diligent on his rehab, it means he could be back for Wales."
England visit Wales for their first away match of the campaign on February 25.