England scare for injured Vickery

England captain Phil Vickery faces a nervous wait to discover the extent of the knee injury he suffered in the Guinness Premiership victory over Sale.

England captain Phil Vickery faces a nervous wait to discover the extent of the knee injury he suffered in Wasps' 29-19 Guinness Premiership victory over Sale.

Vickery has not damaged the anterior cruciate ligaments but his season – and possibly this summer's England tour to New Zealand – remains in doubt after his right leg was twisted awkwardly in a ruck.

Vickery was strapped up and tried to continue but, after two scrums, he limped off.

And the prop worryingly emerged from the changing room midway through the second-half on crutches with his knee packed with ice.

“It is not his ACL. He got his leg twisted but, until he gets it scanned, nobody knows what damage he has done,” said Wasps boss Ian McGeechan.

It was the only sour point in a crucial victory for Wasps which, coupled with Leicester's defeat at Bath, moves them into the Premiership's top four for the first time this season.

Wasps are past masters at timing their title challenge to perfection, having won a hat-trick of Premiership finals without finishing top of the table.

This year, they have had to come from further behind than ever before after winning just one of their first six games.

Tom Voyce and Paul Sackey scored the tries and Danny Cipriani kicked nineteen points as Wasps completed their seventh consecutive victory.

“The players have worked really hard and we are really proud of them. That last defensive play, when Sale went back 30 yards with the ball, showed the attitude,” McGeechan said.

“You don't get much spirit like that to the pound.

“The three games we played in the Six Nations without eight players set the atmosphere.

“I don't think people have noticed it but since we got all our players back from the World Cup, we have been consistent right through. We have only lost one Premiership game since October.

“Tonight was a tremendous game of Premiership rugby. It was nip and tuck, it was physical and you don't get many more competitive games than that.

“I thought our scrummaging was excellent. We had a 100 per cent lineout and in critical games like this, that makes the difference.”

At 17-3 up, Wasps had the game in the bag before Sale full-back Ben Foden set up an exciting finish as he danced over for the Sharks' only try, while Charlie Hodgson kicked fourteen points.

At that point, head coach Shaun Edwards removed the flat-cap he had been wearing all evening.

“My son bought me it at Christmas and he calls it my lucky hat because we have never lost when I have got it on,” laughed Edwards.

“I did take it off when they got back to within four points. I was getting a bit hot and bothered! The pressure was coming on.”

But Wasps closed out the game well, Cipriani slotting two late penalties to deny Sale the losing bonus point and leave Sharks Director of Rugby Philippe Saint Andre a frustrated man.

“I am really disappointed for the guys,” he said.

“They worked very hard. We didn't have enough possession in the first half and they got the intercept try (for Voyce) but in the second half we kept the ball, we created a lot of opportunities.

“I think the Heineken Cup qualification places will come down to just one point and I feel that today we lost a minimum of one point.

“We need to win the next three games and then wait and see what happens.”