Tom Shanklin leaves the field after injuring his knee against Ulster

Blues and Wales centre Tom Shanklin fears his season is over after picking up a knee injury against Ulster.

The British and Irish Lions three-quarter picked up the problem in last week's 19-9 league win in Cardiff.

It is not the knee that Shanklin has had trouble with before and the Blues say it is "not career threatening".

Coach Dai Young says both Shanklin and Blues and Wales scrum-half Gareth Cooper (groin) await tests but are "most likely" to be out for the season.

"[Shanklin has] nothing huge to worry about but he's going to have to have something done, we're probably looking at about six weeks out," said Young.

"[Cooper and Shanklin are] two huge players and it's obviously a blow for us but we've got to deal with it, juggle the squad around and make sure everyone's fresh.

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"Every game's an important one for us now."

Shanklin, 30, was on the bench for all Wales' Six Nations games, winning his 66th cap in the closing win over Italy.

His injury will be a major loss to the Blues as they battle for Heineken Cup qualification for 2010/11.

As well as a challenging league run-in, the Cardiff City Stadium side also have an Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-final against Newcastle next week.

Wales will hope that Shanklin is available for a challenging summer schedule that sees them welcome South Africa to the Millennium Stadium on 5 June before embarking on a two-Test tour of New Zealand.

Shanklin, who started his career with Saracens, starred in Wales' 2005 Grand Slam campaign.

He toured with the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand that summer, but a knee injury - sustained while playing for the Blues shortly before the Lions left - ended his trip early and denied him a Test place.

Shanklin was also a major player in Wales' 2008 Grand Slam and he won selection for last summer's Lions series in South Africa.

But he injured a shoulder while on Blues duty and was forced to withdraw before the tour.

Cooper started the Six Nations as Wales' first-choice scrum-half, but has since fallen behind Blues colleague Richie Rees and fit-again Lions Mike Phillips and Dwayne Peel in the pecking order.

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