Ellis's absence would be a huge blow to England

The England scrum-half has damaged his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which could mean six months on the sidelines.

Tigers head coach Pat Howard said Ellis is likely to need surgery.

"It would be a very big blow to England and it's a blow for us because he's a very good player," he added. "He's had a great year and this is hard to take."

Harry has dealt with the shock and now he wants to get right for club and country Pat Howard

Howard said the Leicester and England medical teams would work together to decide on the best course of rehabilitation for the player.

"I'm obviously very disappointed," said Ellis. "It's come at a bad time with two finals and a World Cup coming up.

"It's in the hands of the medical team and I hope the damage is not too bad. I just hope I'm a quick healer."

Ellis suffered the injury in Leicester's Guinness Premiership semi-final play-off victory over Bristol last Saturday.

In the short term, he will miss Saturday's final against Gloucester at Twickenham, and the Heineken Cup final against Wasps a week on Sunday.

Howard is already short of scrum-halves, with Ellis's back-up Scott Bemand also sidelined through injury, although he may be fit for the Heineken Cup final.

Irishman Frank Murphy, who replaced Ellis against Bristol, is set to start against Gloucester, while 17-year-old academy player Ben Youngs - the son of a former England scrum-half, Nick - could be on the bench.

Fly-half Ian Humphys and versatile back Sam Vesty are other options to cover scrum-half from the bench.

606: DEBATE With luck he could be back in eight to 10 weeks, fully rested and set to go DR

Ellis' injury comes after a season in which he established himself as England's first-choice scrum-half with a series of impressive displays in the Six Nations Championship.

It is the latest blow to hit England coach Brian Ashton as he plans the defence of the World Cup in France in the autumn.