Bristol Rugby skipper Matt Salter will miss the opening rounds of the European Challenge Cup, after dislocating his shoulder in his side's 33-20 win over NEC Harlequins...
The 29-year-old flanker was forced off midway through the first-half, and will be out of action until at least November.
"Thankfully it appears that Matt hasn't suffered any break", said Bristol coach Richard Hill, "but he will be out for a few weeks."
Despite the injury to their inspirational captain, Bristol's five-try win meant the Pool 1 side returned to top of the Guinness Premiership.
David Lemi crossed twice for the home side, and tries from Alex Clarke and Shaun Perry plus a penalty try completed the scoring.
Although Pool 4 side Harlequins came back strongly late on, with Tani Fuga and Andre Vos adding to Ugo Monye's first half score, unbeaten Bristol hung on for their fourth win of the season.
Both sides face away trips for their ERC Challenge Cup openers next weekend. Harlequins travel to Galway to play Connacht on Friday, while Bristol make the trip to Bucuresti on Saturday.
