Bristol Rugby forward Steven Luatua ruled out for the rest of the season with knee injury

Former All Black, and Bristol Rugby forward Steven Luatua has suffered a season-ending knee injury in England.

The 26-year-old will be out of action for up to ten weeks after sustaining the injury early in last weekend’s defeat to Jersey at Ashton Gate.

Today head coach Pat Lam confirmed All Black Steven Luatua will be out for 10 weeks.

Lam said: “Unfortunately, that’s the nature of the game – but he now joins the RTP group (return to play) and we’re confident he’ll make a speedy recovery, so the show must go on."

“It’s not a major injury, it’s just that the timing isn’t great.

"It’s now a chance for the next guy to step up. It’s no different from every other player – once one is down, the next guy steps up and does the job. We’re confident we’ve got good cover for him.”

Bristol are currently leading the championship by 14 points. They have five games remaining against Rotherham Titans, Yorkshire Carnegie, Nottingham, Doncaster Knights and Hartpury as the club look to secure promotion back to the Aviva Premiership.