DURSLEY Rugby head coach Alan Evans said the whole club were desperately sad for local hero Ben Morgan after the number eight fractured his leg during last Friday’s Aviva Premiership clash with Saracens at Kingsholm.

Morgan, 25, started the pathway that has led him to becoming an England international at Dursley.

He was six years old when he first began playing there and has now risen to become one of the top back row players in Europe.

Morgan, capped 27 times for his country, could have taken the Six Nations Championships by storm had the injury not struck.

However, his massive setback during the second half of Gloucester’s breathtaking 24-23 win over Saracens has now seen him undergo surgery to correct the damage to his left leg.

Gloucester RFC said in a statement: “Morgan has suffered a fracture to his lower left leg and had surgery performed on Saturday morning. He will commence an appropriate rehabilitation programme for this type of injury over the coming weeks.”

Former Thornbury RFC youngster and schoolboy Billy Vunipola, who scored a try against Gloucester on Friday, is set to take over Morgan’s international shirt.

But, on Saturday afternoon, there was huge sympathy among the supporters and management of Dursley RFC.

They sent all their good wishes for a speedy recovery, although estimates are that Morgan could be out for around six months which would not only rule him completely out of the current season but give him only a matter of weeks to get back into top-class form ahead of the World Cup.

Evans spoke for all the club after Dursley beat Southmead in their Gloucester One league encounter at Stinchcombe on Saturday, saying: “As you know, Ben is a proper Dursley boy. I was watching the game with his dad and brother on Friday and he just does not need an injury to put him out of the game.

“He is on top of his game and we will all be rooting that he can get back into the World Cup.

“As a junior club with Ben flying the flag for us, we need him back in there (Gloucester and England) because it generates a vibrant atmosphere in the club when he is playing.

“We just need him back playing and doing what he does best (with England).