Rugby-England centre Te'o set to miss November internationals

Oct 18 (Reuters) - England centre Ben Te'o has been ruled out for at least a month after sustaining an ankle injury that might require surgery, Worcester Warriors head coach Carl Hogg has said.

Te'o, who has won eight caps for England, limped off in the early stages of the win over Brive last Saturday and the 30-year-old could be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines if surgery is required.

"Ben's got a syndesmosis (a high ankle sprain) injury of his ankle," Hogg told the Worcester News.

"He's being assessed currently and will head back down to Cardiff on Monday to see whether he'll go down a surgical route or whether it'll be managed conservatively.

"He's expected to be out for at least a month but we'll find out more next week once the swelling has settled down and it'll give us a better idea of timeframes."

The New Zealand-born former rugby league player gained attention after his impressive performances for the British and Irish Lions during their series against the All Blacks earlier this year.

England meet Argentina on Nov. 11 and also host Australia and Samoa in the international window.

Another England centre with Samoan heritage, Manu Tuilagi, will also miss the tests but could be back in action in early December following knee surgery.

The 26-year-old would be an automatic choice when fit but has played only one test since England's June tour of New Zealand in 2014.

"He is in front of schedule and ticking along brilliantly," Leicester Tigers head coach Matt O'Connor told BBC Radio Leicester.

"We should see Manu in early December, hopefully."

(Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru)