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England number eight Alex Dombrandt faces a “prolonged period” on the sidelines after suffering a serious knee injury in the international against a France XV on Friday.<\/b><\/p>\n
The Harlequins captain, 29, sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during the non-Test summer warm-up, which England lost 35-19<\/a>.<\/p>\n A club statement read, external<\/span><\/a>: “Alex will be assessed by a specialist in the coming days, before undergoing surgery and then beginning rehabilitation with the club’s medical team. <\/p>\n “He is expected to be sidelined for a prolonged period of the 2026-27 season.”<\/p>\n Dombrandt had been named in England’s training squad for the upcoming Nations Championship, but was left out of the final 36-man squad<\/a> having sustained the injury.<\/p>\n He scored 10 tries in 21 appearances last season for Harlequins, in what was a difficult campaign for the London club as they finished ninth in the Prem table.<\/p>\n Harlequins will be without their skipper for much of next season as they attempt to rebuild.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n