Riki Flutey drives forward for an in-form Wasps side

Wasps: (10) 29
Tries: Voyce, Sackey
Cons: Cipriani 2
Pens: Cipriani 5

Sale: (3) 19
Try: Foden
Con: Hodgson
Pens: Hodgson 4

Danny Cipriani kicked 19 points as Wasps moved up to fourth place in the Guinness Premiership table with their seventh straight league win.

But there was an injury scare for England captain Phil Vickery after he limped off with a worrying knee injury. Tries from Tom Voyce and Paul Sackey put Wasps in control, while Cipriani's boot kept the scoreboard kicking over.

Sale full-back Ben Foden scored a fine try and Charlie Hodgson kicked 14 points as the visitors came up short.

Wasps have a fine recent record of peaking at the right time, and they look to be repeating the trick again this season.

Sale took an early lead through Hodgson's penalty after Josh Lewsey's mistake, but Wasps went ahead when Voyce intercepted Foden's pass to sprint 50m to the line.

Luke McAlister and Cipriani both missed penalty attempts before the Wasps number 10 found his range to give Wasps a 10-3 half-time lead.

But the main news of the first half was Vickery's injury after the prop found himelf in an awkward position at the bottom of a ruck.

Vickery was strapped up and tried to continue but limped off after two scrums in clear discomfort, and he emerged from the changing room midway through the second half on crutches and his knee packed with ice.

A superb Sackey try - after good work from Cipriani, Voyce and Fraser Waters - extended Wasps' lead against a Sale side short on ideas.

A steady stream of Cipriani kicks kept Wasps in front but Joe Worsley's sin-binning gave the Sharks hope and a splendid run from Foden ended with the full-back scoring next to the post.

A fourth Hodgson penalty brought Sale back to within four points and set up a grandstand finish - but Wasps closed the game out through another Cipriani kick.

Wasps director of rugby Ian McGeechan:
"The players have worked really hard and we're proud of them.

"Since we got all our players back from the World Cup, we've been consistent - we've only lost one league game since October.

"I thought our scrum was excellent. We had a 100% lineout and in games like this, that makes the difference."

McGeechan on Vickery's knee injury:
"It is not his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament). He got his leg twisted but, until he gets it scanned, nobody knows what damage he has done."

Sale director of rugby Philippe Saint-Andre:
"I am really disappointed for the guys - they worked very hard.

"We didn't have enough ball in the first half and they got the intercept but in the second half we kept the ball and created a lot of chances.

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

Wasps: Lewsey, Sackey, Waters, Flutey, Voyce, Cipriani, Reddan, Payne, Ibanez, Vickery, Shaw, Birkett, Haskell, Rees, Hart.
Replacements: Ward, French, Skivington, Barnard, McMillan, van Gisbergen, Worsley.

Sale: Foden, Cueto, McAlister, Thomas, Ripol, Hodgson, Martens, Faure, Bruno, Turner, C. Jones, Schofield, White, Lund, Bonner-Evans.
Replacements: Briggs, Roberts, Cockbain, Cox, Wigglesworth, Bell, Kuadey.

Referee: Andrew Small (RFU)